Stasis
by Stillmatic
Summary: A lone man is sent to the Moon in an effort to prepare for colonization. After a crash, he finds himself on an oddly different Moon. After repairing his shuttle, he careens to Earth to find a radically different frontier that isn't like Earth in most ways
1. Chapter 1

**Stasis**

**Chapter 1: Shooting For the Moon**

**By: Stillmatic**

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><p>USS Hazard– Dark Side of the Moon – Earth Time: Saturday, July 1, Year 2197<p>

Log Access – _**[Redacted]**_ Employee Service Number 7195

Beginning Recording Momentarily… Recording Starting in 3, 2, 1… _***Beep***_

"I told him the fucking Tuesdays were… Shit, the button," worded a man searching around his back.

Recording Ended… Recording Starting in 3, 2, 1… _***Beep***_

"Yeah, ok. So this recording that the suits want me to do every 3 hours is really lacking content at this point. Did they consider that 3 hours wasn't enough goddamn time for something to actually happen? And this piece of shit trigger they gave me, why is it wireless?" He lifted a small wireless stalk-like object, no bigger than his hand, holding a red button on the top.

"The camera is only in one spot, why would I need to activate it somewhere else? For all the shit I put up with for my country, you'd think they'd spring for some better equipment for," He stood from the chair and held his fist to his heart as dramatically as possible, "'the space scouting mission of the century'. Why even bother making it seem better than it is? I'm not going to say no, and I'm not going to be in history books for this, only those assholes down there who want the credit for making a decision that'll change the fate of 'All free, American people'."

The man sat back down and a scowl grew on his face quite quickly. Then, putting one elbow on his knee, the other in the air, pointed an accusing finger right at the camera.

"They give me shit to work with every fuckin' time, and yet I still get it done. No fucking extra pay, no shiny ass medal, not even letting me spend some goddamn time in the city. Hell, I bet they wouldn't even let me cash the checks they supposedly hold for me until I'm given clearance again. Yet, here I am. Out playing 'American Patriot, the man whose actions could very well save the nation as we know it.'"

He gets up and heads over to a duffle bag, unzipping it and reaching in for a large, aged book. "I don't know about you boys back home, you assholes who send me out every fucking time to do something, know about family, but that's the only reason I'm fucking here." He flips open the book and sifts through the pages. Getting to the page he desired, he turns the book close towards the camera and points to a very old photo, possibly over 200 years old. "That there, my ancestor, was the first to do your dirty work. You don't know about him, you couldn't. The guys before you wiped him from history! And for what? Doing as he was told for his country?"

The photo was of a squad of six men, in a dense jungle environment. Their green uniforms and helmets were scuffed, dirtied, torn and left in a horrible state beyond belief. And yet, they all smiled and cheered in the photo. No matter how many generations received this book and stared at this picture, none could figure out why. They were clearly living in horrible conditions, but still showed no signs of the wear-and-tear that comes from fighting the kinds of battles they fought.

Squadmates until the end, none of them had records of who they were today. History was still kept here however, in this book, where a man in the middle of the squad sported the biggest grin among the six. Looking at what was probably his great, great, great, great, grandfather (most likely), the man shuddered, wondering what might have happened there that made six men smile like children. It seemed to wrong for that to be, they were supposed to hate it there and be disgusted by what they had to do. And yet, they smiled.

"Whatever, it's all in the past, not much I can do about it. But did anyone notice or at the very least cared, that each member of my family who was an agent died on mission, in the same fucking way, on fucking Tuesdays! They all got killed during evac, which I find pretty fucking coincidental. Everyone said it was just the family curse or some bullshit, but either way, for something so important, why send a guy whose family is known throughout you guys to have the tendency to get killed on Tuesdays? Shit doesn't add up." He chuckled lightly at that, considering if his family really _was _cursed.

Behind him, a panel was starting to shoot sparks from beneath its edges. Turning around to see how bad these sparks were, he looked at the camera once more to say, while having on hand palms up, the other's finger repeatedly pressing into it, "You could have at least left me with better protection from those guys who attacked with those stealth planes during takeoff. I mean," he held his arms out to signify all the decade old equipment and technology around him, "_just _look at this _shit!_ I fucking managed to get into space, thank God. Here's what you do now, get better detections systems for your AA guns, because I'm not going through that shit again."

Just as he was about to continue, his shuttle rattled immensely, as if something had rammed into it, yet didn't damage it just yet. He immediately got up, and stumbled over from the rattling to the portal-like window that served as his eyes on the right side of the shuttle. He had arrived, but he sure as hell didn't seem welcome. The Moon was particularly bright tonight, or whatever time it was. He didn't have time to admire it (or fear it) though, that hunk of compressed dust was seemingly trying to kill him. He snickered a bit at that, something so obviously dead, trying to kill him? If guns couldn't, he'd let the moon at least try. He moved back to the camera.

"Look, I've arrived, but something seems wrong. The Moon doesn't seem right, something's off. I'll remake contact in three hours, until then, I'm going to try and land this thing if it doesn't try to crush me with those gravitational anomalies Aden was talking about. Hopefully, if I'm lucky, shit won't hi-".

He was knocked over from another one of those anomalies. Those things, it's like they were what he had on Earth, except not metallic and capable of shooting large amounts of shrapnel, explosives, and slight radiation. It didn't even look like anything was there. 'There really wasn't though', he thought to himself, 'I've seen plenty of textbooks and studies on theoretical physics to know that it isn't possible.'

"Yeah, transmission out." He groaned from the floor. Seemed like that wireless trigger for the camera did come in handy, because he didn't feel like getting back up just yet. Well, that is until another force of gravity rocked his shuttle. Getting up, he turned toward the control center towards the front of the ship.

With the deftness of a man who knew his technology, he grabbed the holographic interface of a wheel shape and turned it towards the moon. Being a mission in itself, he finally managed to turn it enough so that it would not slingshot around the moon and throw him into space. As per his orders, he maneuvered to the darker side of the moon, still being far enough that it would take a few minutes.

Another force hit the shuttle again and he grunted from the knockback, nearly stumbling out of the reinforced chair of the pilot. Regaining his composure he noticed that these gravitational shocks were slowly picking up in intensity and speed. It was like something really didn't want him to prepare for a possible colonization, which to an opposing nation, or race, would seem like a goal definitely worth working towards.

"Hoo-wee, this thing really doesn't seem to like me," which he considered for a moment, "If it's even alive that is. Which I doubt. It's not like anything can survive on the moon without an atmosphere anyway."

For the next few minutes, barrage after barrage of shaking, trembling, and absolutely powerful force crashed into the ship, as if it was trying to knock him off course. But he was one of the "TTG", and occurrences like these, well they became fairly common throughout his life, despite him not being near the moon in God knows how long. And being a "TTG" meant living every word of what those letters stood for. It wasn't something that ever left you, grafted into your mind permanently.

So he continued forward, allowing himself and his ship to push past the growing amount of force hitting his ship. And then, like a comet itself had hit him, his shuttle and him where thrown and skewed off course. Alarms started blaring, red lights lit the shuttle, and the status screen was flashing.

"Jesus, what was _that?_ That shouldn't have happened, and it's seriously fan-fucking-tastic that they didn't brief on the anomalies being that strong." He checked the status screen for diagnostics on the damage of that one. Luckily (in some cases anyway) all that was seriously damaged beyond repair currently was the Navigational Operating Device, or N.O.D. He looked around; nothing seemed to be able to get him out of this situation. His ass was about to crash.

"Looks like shit is going to hit the fan. Well, I'm not careening into empty space, but the landing sure as hell won't be fun. Might as well sleep through it than go through it." He got up from the pilot chair and moved towards the rear of the shuttle. Half-way there, he stopped by a tube of sorts. It was see-through for most of the length of it, metallic locks near the bottom, a metallic suspension hinge at the top, a comfortable looking interior (even though through his experience, it wasn't), and different hoses snaking around the top to the walls and other sockets. But he didn't have time to talk at this point, who knew what effects the crash would have on him or the ship that didn't seem very stable at this point.

So he pressed onto a keypad and popped in his security code and followed with a dash and his Employee Service Number. He groaned before entering, ready to face whatever was there when he woke up. Stepping in, he hoped for being able to make it through this without dying a horrible death in space. "Looks like I'm just going to have to wait it out," he chuckled nervously. He looked to his right, seeing through the front window that the shuttle was quickly approaching the moon. The stasis tube he was in was starting to take effect on him, because every time he blinked at the moon, the blinking seemed to take longer and longer to actually do. As the shuttle started rattling from entering near the moon and getting close to the surface, he slowly opened his eyes one last time and mumbled to himself, "Shit."

Even through his closed eyes, things seemed to be alive and moving. Tiny sparks making a very short screech passed his eyelids. He assumed it was cosmic radiation, but there was something else that he saw. He saw a constant light, bright and shining as though it were the sun literally in his eyes. Faint sounds passed him, almost whispers. He couldn't move, nor could he react, he was in stasis after all, but a person shouldn't be conscious during stasis. He figured that old technology will undoubtedly produce unwanted effects, such as this, with time. Might as well enjoy the idea of an out of body experience, within his own body.

Moving near the light, he noticed that it was no larger than maybe a well's hole. In fact, it seemed more like a hole than an orb of light. Whatever the hell this thing was, it didn't seem very out of place for some reason. Moving through the cone of light it produced and getting closer to the hole, he reminded himself that practically nothing could go wrong inside his own head. He stuck his head through to be greeted by literal information. It was flowing, ebbing around like he was looking at a river. His mind didn't appreciate this sight, and his eyes were straining to look at what was not physically possible. His mind was slowly closing itself to him, going into a primal failsafe that was stuck with him in the most hazardous of situations.

He tried moving out of the hole, only to be slightly pulled back. In a useless fit, he tried removing himself from the hole, only to not be able to muster enough strength to force his way back. Information slowly started to move towards him, flowing seamlessly towards his head, only to pierce it. He felt nothing at first, but he started remembering things that he never learned about, like certain memories. One thing in particular went into his mind, and he felt as though it were nothing, just an empty thought. It settled itself into his brain, making it comfortable in his very foundation. Oddly enough, he managed to pull himself out within a moment.

His mind, however, seemed to be rejecting the notion that what was happening was possible and closed itself once again. He slowly drifted away from the hole and fell into a slumber inside his own coma. There was a strange shaking and tossing in his mind, but he rejected it and fell interrupted into a dark, endless void. Something seemed to flow back into his mind, but being that deep in the stasis tends to make one uncaring.

The mind sure does play tricks on a person. Or maybe it wasn't his mind and more so a tiny chip.


	2. Chapter 2

**Stasis**

**Chapter 2: Just a Formality**

**By: Stillmatic**

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><p><em>Honestly, it doesn't seem worth remembering, <em>

_What could I possibly learn from this that I haven't already?_

_Just a big ass waste of time…_

_But it wouldn't matter at this point, would it?_

In a small meeting room with computers decking the walls on nearly all sides, sat two old veteran agents. While one may not have seen as much action as the other, they both somehow ended up working together long enough to know each other well. They were almost friends.

"Really Aden, why am I being sent to that god-forsaken rock? The government has to have a better man than me," said a lean, muscular man, of obvious Brooklyn origin due to his accent. Most noticeable of him was his height, where he stood at around 6'3". His hair was buzzed shorter than a military cut, and yet, there was still some kind of freedom still there. He seemed to keep a calm demeanor while speaking for the most part.

"Unfortunately, no, they don't. You've got experience, they need that. Remember, it's your job to assist your country in any way possible. It's why you're TTG, right?" responded the shorter, stockier engineer. He kept a hard hat on the back of his neck, tied there like it was formal attire, which seemed to match his small, dark goggles above his eye brows. Other than being in a jumpsuit and hair to his shoulders, he seemed almost like the average man, if it weren't for the deep marks of weariness on his face.

"Fuckin' TTG, that shit is for those grunts. I'm a field engineer, not a goddamn pioneer of space! Sure there were people, probably dozens to hundreds before me to be in space, but they decide that I was the best person for a space trip to the goddamn Moon? Really what kind of bulls-" the first man questioned. He started taking his frustration out on a globe of the Earth on his left, spinning and slapping it, with no regard.

"Rick," Aden said in a cracking monotone voice. He was obviously getting annoyed at the constant blathering and complaining of his associate.

"-hit are they sending me on this time? When can I retire and good god when's th-"

"_RICK!" _yelled, now putting out his original tone for something far more fresher, crisper, and to Rick, just plain rude.

"What?" he asked, in the most oblivious tone possible.

"Shut your ass up for just a moment, would you? You aren't going on a goddamn kiddie mission, this is big shit. It should be an honor to do this; you'll be setting the stones for an American future on the Moon."

"Yeah, by myself. On the dark side of the Moon," he plainly stated, with obvious dissatisfaction at his upcoming mission.

"Don't see it that way, that's the best place at this point to put you. You wouldn't want to get discovered, and hunted down by who knows what part of the world that loves to work against us. You would be dead, and erased permanently, no one would even be able to recover your body," Aden reasoned while trying to demonstrate what the possibilities were when America had control over the Moon.

"I heard its real cold, and dark."

"Obviously, that's why it's called the 'dark side'. Honestly, for an engineer, you seem to be missing a lot of information," he said, not even with the slightest signs of teasing.

"Fuck you; let's continue when you're done being a smart ass. So what's the danger that courageous old me will have to face?"

"Nothing really, just standard procedure, or what we would assume standard procedure would be. There are however, some slight oddities that are poking up around the moon." Aden looked into a bin next to him and pulled a clipboard to eyes.

"Oddities? Like volcanoes or space aliens or some shit?" Rick was starting to get a bit excited at the ideas of dodging molten ash and fighting off little green men with nothing but a single laser focuser.

"Let's use the word anomalies instead. And no, there aren't any aliens 'or some shit'. Now, these anomalies lie on the surrounding area of the moon." He pointed to a diagram on a board behind him. "Think of it like it's the sky on the moon, except invisible and slightly dangerous. I'm not going to go into details _why _it's like that, but let's just say that this is the first time in roughly 30-something years that something like this has happened," he explained, not letting out more than necessary.

"So why send me now? Why not wait until it's over?" Rick asked, shrugging off his co-worker's obvious lack of wanting to tell the full story.

"Window of opportunity, it's not something we can waste. If we don't make our move now, it'll just be more expensive to do it later," he told nonchalantly.

"So instead of safety, you guys are budgeting?" Rick questioned, without any sort of expression whatsoever.

"Yeah, but don't worry, I'm sure it'll be fine. Anyway, get to the surface, and I _cannot _express this enough, but land on the dark side," a statement that showed some form of concern, maybe not to the man opposite of him, but to the mission.

"Why, who's going to follow me into space? Nazis?" Rick was definitely getting some sort of kick from guessing what was to come.

"I think it was someone in your family who fought them right? Like two hundred years ago?"

"Yeah, let's continue, I want to get this over with," Rick stated, seeming sore about what Aden just asked, as if he stuck lemon juice into an old would.

"Right, you land, and you set up. Take samples, check conditions, you know what to do. Just be careful, I don't need to remind you of that guy Morarsky twenty years ago. He thought it was a good idea to open a hole in his shuttle, can you believe that?" It almost was like gossiping for him for a brief second.

"What a dumbass."

"We're getting off topic, so pay attention. Make sure everything is suitable, and radio back, give us everything. Then within time, we can send a mass deployment of military, scientific, and civilian personnel to begin the first colonization. You don't need to worry about that, that's our job to get them there. Make reports roughly every 3 hours, and keep the language clean, our 'benefactors' will be closely observing this one. Also, you remember how to use your suit right?" Aden started rummaging through the bin again, Rick peeking around to see if there was anything recognizable.

"The agency wouldn't send me up there without knowing every damn thing about it," he said, teetering on one side to get a better look.

"Right, let's take a look at this clipboard… You know the HUD, chemical, radioactive, and all the other sensors most likely… Now the functions, and you should know this, are thought activated, so just remember that there are no buttons to the flashlight." He looked intently on Rick to see if he understood.

"Listen, no one told me that during that evac under Red Square, that flashlights were not button activated. Who thinks about that shit when they're being shot at?" Even Rick could prove a point pretty well when it came to his equipment, and a near-disastrous encounter with the best of the FSB on his tail in the Red Square's sewers.

"Fine, fine, just don't forget. You're getting, and you're not going to believe this one, the newest prototype of Krieger/Bower's Hazardous Environment Protective Suit System. Call it a H.E.P.S.S. for short. It'll keep you alive in space without a constant air supply for roughly 2 minutes, before you need to find a source that is. It's all about TTG, so I know you got this." He cracked a smile at that last part. It was probably because how multi-purpose and versatile the phrase "TTG" was.

"Shit, why would they spring for this?" He clearly expressed pure shock at this. "It must have cost a few pretty pennies… And is it post-customized by you like usual? You know I love the shit you do to those suits, it's like "Pimp My Armor" or something," he giddily chattered.

"Yeah, I'll have it done by the time you're out of the surgery." Aden turned his head lower, staring at another clip board Rick didn't remember him grabbing. But that didn't matter.

"The fuck surgery you talkin' about? I'm not busted in anyway," he stated as he proudly hit his fist to his chest in a most patriotic manner.

"Yeah, forgot to mention this earlier. The new suit? It requires a chip. It goes in your spine." It seemed like nonchalantness wasn't spared when it came to the body of his co-worker.

"I'm not putting shit into my spine," Rick bluntly stated, putting his arms in across his chest.

"Now listen, this might help you actually survive a real bad situation. It's called the 'KBS Sensory Uninhibitor Spinal Chip'. It pretty much allows free adaption to different environments. It won't let you walk into space without a suit, but it'll do various things for your body. Like, if you crash and land right into a Chinese federal bureau, it'll slowly learn the language for you, making you speak it near fluent. Also, it can force your brain to release chemicals like adrenaline, stuff like that," Aden explained, in a relatively dumbed downed version of what it really did. Not that it was necessary to do that.

"Doesn't seem bad… But how long does it stay in for?" Rick wasn't afraid of the chip, he just didn't like permanent anything on himself.

"As long as you use the suit. Also regarding the suit, with conjunction with the chip, it'll connect to your Reconstruction/Stasis Chamber."

"They sprung for that too! Jesus, what the hell are they expecting for me to get into?" He seemed shocked that they'd give him the pleasure of having an over a million dollar piece of equipment at his disposal.

"It's just a formality, and we need a few safeguards to make sure this goes smoothly. So you remember what it does right? Just don't die too often, and it'll be fine. You may be missing some hair or skin patches, but Reconstruction is this age's biggest leap forward, other than what we're about to do of course. I will remind you though; you'll feel all the pain of dying until your brain ceases connection with the chip and the Chamber. In other words, you have to fully die, or else you won't reconstruct immediately," said Aden, in such a way that showed no concern at the idea of feeling every excruciating pang and leap of pain run down someone's body until it finally gave up.

"Easy enough, just die in classy ways. Those chambers though, they need better padding. I've woken up from stasis and felt my ass's soreness and chaffing from rubbing metal for so long. Really uncomfortable, and it seems like every time I get into one, something happens to the way I think. It's like I remember things I don't remember happening," he mused. He tended to pick up memories and maybe even fake memories his mind created, during stasis. Either way, he learned quite a few tricks in survival from those "memories".

"It's normal," Aden said in the bluntest tone possible, all while keeping his eyes locked on the man across from him.

"I doubt it," countered Rick, ready to prove his point.

"Well it is, so you ready? I made the appointment for the surgery a few hours ago, so they should be prepped soon." He was silently counting figures on how long it would be until Rick was fully prepared to go.

"Without consulting me? How could you possibly do such a thing?" He gave the most sarcastically hurt tone and face his associate had ever seen on him.

"And here I was, thinking you were TTG. Guess not seeing as though you sure not acting like it." He smirked at that; he knew full well that Rick may complain about his group, but he would do everything in his power to give it a good name.

"It's called sarcasm ass. And yeah let's get this over with now," Rick remarked, losing some of his cheer.

"I would have thought you would want to wait, you know say bye to people around here just in case." Aden lifted an eyebrow, only to be given an uncaring look from Rick.

"Don't need to, I plan on coming back here, 'curse' or not," he stated, with full confidence of his words.

"Atta' boy. Now let's get you prepped for surgery. Shouldn't take longer than, shit, maybe half the day? Well, you won't feel sore or anything, so you could get started with the last briefing and equipment outfitting maybe an hour or two after surgery."

"Sounds like a plan, let's hit it."

They got up from their short swivel chairs and moved to a wooden door near Rick's right hand side. As they were about to leave, Rick stopped for a moment. Almost turning back at the globe he was spinning at his whim, his forehead creased along with his brows. He put his hand on the doorknob and opened it to a white, immaculate hallway, literally lined for hundreds of yards with the same looking door as he and Aden stepped out of.

He hadn't taken notice, but it all seemed routine anyway, so how was he to blame? Locking the door behind him and his co-worker, they started down a long, white passageway, not even bothering to look back at how far back the other direction stretched. Rick put his hands in his pocket, and then tried to put his doubts in the back of his mind. 'No reason to even think that something could go wrong right? These "benefactors" wouldn't send one of their best men on some unknown mission.' He chuckled at the thought only to get a curious look from the man next to him.

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><p>Never thought I'd be writing a fanfic, let alone one that uses FiM. Any questions, comments, suggestions, etc., ask either in a review or email me at :<p>

Keep it trilla.


	3. Chapter 3

**Stasis**

**Chapter 3: A Large Step Across**

**By: Stillmatic**

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><p>'<em>Time, does it exist in stasis? Is it like a shell? Is it covering and protecting me from Time?'<em>

'_Something doesn't feel right. Something's been added to me, but I can't tell what.'_

'_Fuck it, it has to be my imagination. I shouldn't even be able to think in stasis anyway. I think I shouldn't put this off any longer, it's time to get this over with and get back home.'_

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><p>It was past midnight in the quaint village of Ponyville. The town itself was quite quiet at this time, being so late at night and early in the morning, yet those who hadn't slept or awoke early to begin work <em>did <em>feel something was different. Something mysterious hung in the air, but was easily passed off to most as just a sign of spring starting to come around the corner.

A few ponies started to move about, trying to make the least amount of noise for their sleeping neighbors, as they most likely came back from some late shift or possibly even the closest city's nightclubs. Everything seemed peaceful, and oh so tranquil in spite of what was to come.

Near the center of town, a mighty tree stood tall and wide for all to see. Though still a tree, the structure was somehow capable of doubling as a library. Most sciences couldn't figure out how or why the tree was still alive, despite it having its guts and pulp torn out. It wasn't worth the time to consider why, but only the newer ponies who've just entered Ponyville for the first time would ask about it.

On the second floor of the tree-library hybrid, was a short, scaly creature sleeping on a bed, snoring not too loudly, but not very quietly. The scaly sleeper was in fact a dragon, so small and young, still a child developing its power. It was obviously dreaming in its sleep, because every so often it mumbled and kicked around in bed.

Near a balcony however, was a light purple unicorn, with a mane that was a darker shade of purple and a magenta streak that ran through. On a hind leg, was what looked almost like a tattoo, except for how natural it seemed, and it was of a star surrounded by other smaller stars. This unicorn clearly showed a love of learning, evidenced by the mounds of books and tomes strewn across the floor and desk. As she looked over to the desk, back from the balcony, a glow emitted from the horn atop her head.

Through magic, she flipped the pages of a large, old book open on her desk. She reached the page she desired and cracked a small smile. She used magic to lift the book over to the balcony and looked it over before glancing to the moon. She frowned for a moment when she noticed there was something odd about the moon. She would definitely send a letter to the Princesses, just in case of course. There was no point in taking any chances, especially since the whole Nightmare Moon situation happened less than a year ago.

She took another glance at the moon and then really looked at it. It seemed brighter, at least 20% brighter, if she had to estimate. 'Maybe it's a rare lunar cycle thing,' she thought to herself. 'I suppose it's possible, maybe I'll see if any books have anything on this kind of thing.' She took an even closer look to notice that one spot in particular was brightest, a very large crater near the right-bottom center of the moon. That seemed to be the only thing out of place on the bright façade of the moon. Maybe Princess Luna was feeling happy tonight, and decided to show the beauty of the moon.

Moving inside, she noticed the time, and more importantly, the bed that seemed to be calling her. It had been over 20-something hours since she's slept last, and it was starting to really take a toll on her. She was torn between her two needs, the need to read up on what she didn't know, and the need to finally sleep after long hours of studying. She sighed, 'Well, I can't focus or absorb as much when I'm next to asleep. I'm sure this can wait until morning.' She checked the clock nearby to see that it was 3:00 A.M. She sighed again, 'That leaves me only a few hours of sleep.'

As she frowned at what her next morning would be like without the proper sleep she needed, she slowly went over to the bed. Starting to get it, her eyesight passed through her window to the moon. For no reason whatsoever, she shuddered. Something definitely seemed odd about it tonight, but shrugged it off as slumber soon took over her tired body. She relaxed and blew out a candle nearby, making sure of there being no light to disturb her sleep.

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><p>A desolate landscape, full of gray-white rocks, dust, and craters, was especially bright and white where one man was waking from quite a long sleep. In one of the largest craters on the moon, a metallic shuttle crashed near perfectly on the rugged surface of the moon. It had nearly no visible damage of it whatsoever. However, getting it upwards from this position would be quite the challenge.<p>

Inside the shuttle, hoses near a pod-like chamber hissed and released an ice-cold gas that chilled the air for only a few moments before dissipating. Locks near the bottom of the chamber could be heard unlocking with a loud click. A monotone voice, the onboard management unit, announced that someone was being released from stasis. Finally, after a very long time, the chamber opened to reveal a tall man in casual attire.

He was coming to consciousness, and slowly opened his eyes. It was pleasantly warm in the shuttle, and to him, that was the best of news. That meant there weren't any holes that could suck him into space and kill him. He stepped out of the chamber, being in an almost lofty state. After a few moments of moving around, he started gaining back his senses and thinking clearly. He looked over himself, and was dressed in what was obviously not any kind of clothing that was usually required where he worked.

But he wasn't where he worked right now, so he had free reigns to dress as he pleased. Not that he had much of choice though; he only had one other pair of backup clothing with him. Wearing sneakers, khaki shorts that were lined with pockets and were long enough to reach just past his knees, and a clean white T-shirt. At least no one on the moon could criticize him on his style.

After a few stretches that he really needed (stasis tends to make his muscles and back stiff), he moved over to a terminal near the front of the shuttle. As he passed, he noticed that the crash must have made a real mess of the place. He checked his Lunar Positioning System on the terminal. Something seemed wrong; apparently he was "not in range of any usable satellites". This couldn't be possible, there were literally _hundreds_ of satellites littering Earth's orbit. It seemed like every big-wig company owned one now. And yet, no service whatsoever.

He scratched his chin before moving to the direct front of the shuttle, and leaned against the pilot seat to take a look at the moon. He had a nice view of Earth from here, and the landscape was perfectly fitting to be the moon. He couldn't understand what had gone wrong. Taking a look at the status screen to his right, he noticed everything was in perfect order.

"Well shit, I haven't seen anything like this before," he spoke for the first time since crashing. "It can't be the status screen; these things are damn near unbreakable." He looked around his surroundings to see if there was anything out of the usual. He motioned his eyes to near the shuttle door and his eyes nearly burst from his head.

As if he were in stasis all over again, time seemed to stop. He was looking square into a medium hole gaping in towards the ship, with an equally medium sized white rock lying near the opposite wall. He was frozen, and yet after a few seconds, he noticed nothing was happening. Suddenly, a hologram was shown behind him, of an old man, wrinkly in his brown business suit. Rick flipped around, forgetting the odd gape behind him.

"Hello, *bzt* Employee Number 7195 *bzt*, you've got yourself into quite the situation! If you're either dead, or simply haven't noticed, you've seemed to have blown a hole into the hull of your ship. If you're still alive, congratulations! If not, our condolences, but if you're the former, consider this to be one of the many situations to be thankful of Wheatley Laboratories many innovations in life support! Now, get out there and fix that hole, because it won't do it itself. And if you are dead, disregard all of that. Dale Newell, we're done here."

The hologram suddenly faded from life and was no more. There stood Rick, dumbfounded at what suddenly confirmed his worst horrors. There was a hole in his shuttle, and that was enough to panic his ass off. But there wasn't a need to, because nothing was _happening._ This perplexed Rick to a high extent. He had no protective suit on, there was still pressure and gravity in the shuttle, and there was no force trying to suck him out and kill him.

Taking initiative, he went over to the hole. He stared at it, not daring to move a muscle. Then he put on arm forward, towards the gape. Sticking his hand through, he felt no change. There was no temperature difference, no pressure difference, and it felt exactly like the inside of the shuttle. He removed his hand, not thinking in an effort to avoid losing his roll of moving forward. In a swift turn, he walked over to his Hazard Suit Attachment and Removal Chamber.

With a grin on his face, he ducked a few inches in. Laying his arms, legs, head and body into the mold of the chamber, gears, clinking, and other metallic sounds were made as the machine slowly started plating him with his armored suit. One by one, each joint, seal, and piece was being attached to him. He always thought the feeling kinda tickled. Before long, the process was done, and the chamber made a dinging sound that one would expect to hear from a microwave or toaster.

Stepping out, he started to feel around his new suit. It was a bit uncomfortable at first, but he soon got the hang of it like it was his second skin. He tapped the neck piece of his suit and had hit a button. A sturdy hood made of a material he knew nothing about flicked up his head and settled there, connecting diodes and other wires to various parts of his head. Soon after that, a reflective surface continued where the other left off and proceeded to cover the area in front of his face. The wonders today's technology can do.

He reached for his pocket welder and grabbed some metal from a bin specifically meant to hold the material for repairing a shuttle. He went to the hatch on the right side of the shuttle and opened it. It was the most beautiful scene he'd watched in a long time. A white, rocky landscape, vast and with space as its background, a background of stars and formations, of constellations and nebulae, was before him. As he gaped at the scene, he spoke a single world, "Superb."

He walked over to the hole in the side of his shuttle, and inspected it. It shouldn't be hard to weld it together, despite being in space. Whatever made it possible to breathe on the moon also made it possible to start a fire on it too. Kneeling by the hole, he began holding the piece of metal at the hole. Realizing he forgot a tool, he dropped the metal, went inside, and came out with a pocket rivet launcher.

He held the metal with one hand, and used the rivet launcher with the other. Rivets were launched in all corners of the metal, and he finally pulled out his welder. He considered this for a moment. How exactly would a welder work, in a place without any air to keep the flame alive? He noticed that the moon somehow had an atmosphere of sorts, but would this actually work? The moon shouldn't have air, and yet minutes before, he was in a shuttle with a hole right in the side.

'Not worth thinking about it, might as well _try _it.' He lit his welder, and raised his eyebrow as the flames flew concentrated as if he were welding the various machines his job required back on Earth. He sighed, and started to weld the metal to the hole, sealing the areas the between and around the rivets.

The material was exceptionally resistant to heat, which forced him to kneel down for well over an hour in Earth time. He was starting to feel annoyed as he finished up the last possible spot air could escape from. Turning off the welder, he looked up from where he was kneeling and saw the Earth.

It truly was beautiful, the way half of it seemed to just float over the horizon of the crater he was in. It seemed so much cleaner than he remembered, less gray smog covering the skies, and an overall healthier look.

It suddenly dawned on him, that he may have been in stasis longer he had thought. With a crash like that, something might have been knocked loose, despite what the status screen said. Maybe he had been in there far longer than he could say. The thought chilled him down to his very core, 'God, what if that did happen? If I was gone for a few months, or even a year, things would not look good for me. Who knows what might have happened to the world?'

He shook the disturbing thoughts out of his head, and focused back on what he was going to do next. But he couldn't stop thinking about one thing: how the hell was he going to complete his objectives if he had no communication with the agency or any of their satellites?

An idea crossed his face, a vague one, which really didn't help its plausibility. He would try to reach Earth with his shuttle, and hopefully not die in the subsequent crash. It was a hell of a longshot, but really, what other choice was there? Wait in this hole and die, hoping the agency would send a team to look for him?

"Heeeeeellllll no. Fuck that, I'm getting off this rock," he said in a self-confident tone.

This would definitely be not as easy as he would wish it to be. He'd first have somehow prop up the shuttle in an upwards position, as to give it a chance at breaking the weak gravity of the moon.

"This could actually work," he started to say as he was getting up, "Maybe I can use the su-"

He stopped. He saw a dark figure looking at him from the edge of the crater. Its eyes glowed and looked deep into him. Time suddenly stood still.


	4. Chapter 4

**Stasis**

**Chapter 4: Colder Than Space**

**By: Stillmatic**

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><p>There stood Rick, the less-than-average man who found himself in one hell of a situation. One day he was palling around with his co-workerbuddy, and BAM! he was stuck on the moon, staring down with a mysterious figure across a crater he crashed his shuttle in. Not exactly the choice situation he would have wanted.

He didn't know what to do, or think of what was happening at this very moment. This thing, whatever the hell it was, looked straight into his soul. He did the same back to it, despite his heart rate starting to spike in dangerous ways. The chip in the back of his neck forced the suit to inject slight amounts of morphine to keep his heart rate normal.

Feeling calmer, he stared more intently to see its features. It was dark, so dark that it looked like a literal shadow. It had green eyes, fierce with emotion, and glowing with anticipation. He could plainly see the contempt in those eyes though; this thing truly did not want his company on the barren, white rock. Other than those, it showed no other features.

He suddenly realized that everything that just happened, all his thoughts, the injection, the staring, had all happened in around 2/3's of a second. Before he could consider that, he saw the figure dash out of his sight and away from the crater's edge. He knew this would not end well, not in the least.

"Maybe that was some alien or some shit! Fuck, if it is, I'm goddamn dead! It'll call its buddies and come and rip me apart with their lasers and crap! Oh shit, oh shit! Goddamn, what do I do?"

'Go after it, man. You can take whatever the hell is there easy. You're TTG, not some lightweight grunt. Go and serve some trouble, Brooklyn style.'

His conscience never failed him; he knew now what he needed to do. This may have been humanity's first encounter with an alien race, but he saw that look in enough to humans to know it was universal. It was hatred.

He made his way back into the shuttle and thought about his situation. What were his options? His weapons? How would he fight this creature? He moved over to the back of the shuttle and looked around, rummaging for any blunt object or sharp tool that he could use as a weapon. Given his little amount of time, he managed to procure only two items suitable for his goal.

He looked over both items he held in his hands. He wasn't really sure what would do more damage, the heavy, dark-grey lead pipe, or the equally heavy, crimson-red pipe wrench. Considering it, he tossed the lead pipe. A wrench would have a much smaller chance of bending or breaking.

Another idea occurred to him, something that might allow him to not fight this creature directly. He moved over to the duffle bag by the camera setup near the middle of the shuttle. He remembered that he didn't make contact with the agency, not that he could, without any satellites.

He rummaged through the duffle bag and gave a thoughtful look to the family album he saw earlier. Continuing, he soon found what he was looking for. He pulled a gun out from his bag, a medium sized revolver made with a black metal, a somewhat long barrel, and a white grip. Etched into the side of the grip, was a large black cat, giving a fierce roar towards the direction of the barrel. He moved his hands over it, giving it a thorough look over.

"My, my, it has been a _long_ time, old friend. You are one slick gun, I'll tell you that right now. Makes sense your name is Panther."

He caught himself talking to the gun, and chuckled lightly. He spun it in his right hand, doing various tricks he taught himself. He gave it a concerned look and put it back into the bag.

"Sorry, boy, but you're too much of an antique, I doubt you'll stay together long enough, or be reliable enough for a fight with something no one's ever seen before."

He really wished he could have used it, but he never would have forgave himself if something happened to it. It was the family heirloom he prized the most. That piece of equipment, custom-made, powerful, and deadly accurate, was used by an ancestor of his that lived during sometime called the "Renaissance" or something. He never gave much though into its name, or why it was called it had, but he found it to be fitting nonetheless.

He sighed as he took his wrench and moved back to the hatch. He was ready to face whatever it was he would see out there. He looked over to a clock as he was passing, his eyes widening. It had been a whole ten minutes since he walked in after seeing the creature. It didn't seem possible at first, but he remembered that he tended to get lost in his thoughts when he considered his family's past.

Moving with deftness, he left the shuttle, closing the door behind him. What if the creature had called in reinforcements already? Maybe it had dozens of other creatures just like it, ready to attack him and tear him to tiny bits and pieces. He threw those thoughts out of his head; he needed a clear mind if he was going to survive.

He rushed over to where he had seen the shadow, and climbed the crater's walls. It took barely any effort on his part, with his powered suit doing most of the work. As he reached the top, he saw nothing in front of him other than the landscape. He turned in all directions, confused as to where on Moon could this thing have gone. He saw something however, right in front of him, that he hadn't noticed the second earlier. He saw two figures now, facing each other as if they were fighting.

He gave them a look before taking any steps forward. They were, in all senses of the word, _different._ What he saw, shocked him, and frankly, tore a bit of his spirit up. His mind couldn't comprehend what was merely 200 feet away from him, the same mind that was top of its class at MIT, the same mind that had cracked the best known puzzles and codes set in front of him by the most cunning of governments.

In front of him, were two _horses! _He had a coughing fit at the sight in front of him, clearing showing how unprepared he was at the thought of there being Earth animals on the Moon. He took another look and saw both looked somewhat the same, and yet seemed to having varying features that differed. They almost had somewhat human traits, but nothing very significant.

The one on his left, was fairly larger, more grand, and all around _darker._ It had something malevolent about it, some kind of natural malice that just seemed to flow with it. It had light-blue armored leggings, helmet, and a fairly large necklace. It had large wings, something that had taken Rick by surprise. What was even more surprising was that there was a horn atop its head, fitting perfectly in a hole within the helmet. The backend of it was purple, with a splotch on it not too unlike a crescent moon. But what really threw him off the most was its mane and tail. They seemed too splendid, so original, and yet so mysterious. It a bright dark-blue, and was almost like the night sky, complete with flashing little stars. Being a man of the stars, he could easily appreciate for the beauty of that creature which captured the very essence of space and night.

Glancing over to the right, he saw something far more timid. It was like a near duplicate of the other horse, only smaller, lighter, and less mysterious. While it didn't have the grandeur of its counterpart, it shared the same beauty, in a different manner. Where the leggings were, only bright blue, twinkling shoes stayed. A much smaller necklace adorned its neck, and instead of a helmet, stood a small tiara. Overall, it seemed like a much lighter, more timid, and friendlier version of the one across from it.

He inspected them one more time. Both of their horns had a dark ominous glow to them, their wings were stretched out to full length, and they both bore faces full of hate towards each other. They both had the occasional bruise, scratch, and small blood stain on them. It seemed like they were in a stalemate of a battle, both vying for survival. He felt he should intervene, but considered that if they both fought it out, one would eventually win, killing the other and leaving one weak horse to deal with.

Suddenly, light shone from both their horns, firing small pillars of what seemed like either pure energy or lasers. They hit each other with accuracy, neither missing the spot they hoped to hit. They both took each other's attacks without passing out or dying on the spot. It looked as if it could kill the average human with the force it seemed to emit. He was astounded and slightly worried at the same time. How could he fight something that could shoot energy with the force of one of those ore pulverizers he saw back in Ukraine?

They seemed to be tired, and losing their defenses with each consecutive attack on each other. Eventually, the much larger one had grunted with disdain and fired an exceptionally large beam at the other horse. The other one had the most surprised face Rick had ever seen, he almost thought it looked cute before the beam hit its target and downed the smaller horse. It didn't seem to move at all after that, lying there on the hard ground. He decided now the best time to make his move and attack the other one.

He couldn't care less at what could come from attacking an alien species, but he knew the creature also wasn't looking for a hug from him. He knew though, that he had to get there quick and take it by surprise. That would give him the best chance of killing it. He thought about it, and remembered the capabilities of his suit. He concentrated on his armored leggings, and soon boosters popped out from the back of his calves and from the bottom of his shoes.

He raised himself a few inches from the ground, and sped as fast as possible to the creature. Building momentum, he braced himself, putting his shoulder and arm before the rest of his body. He planned on ramming it from the side, and while it was stunned, smash it as hard as possible with the wrench. It was crude, but it should work if he was quick enough. He closed the distance and was only a few feet away before the horse took notice, a bit too late. He crashed with the force of a truck into the creature, knocking it off its legs and onto the hard ground.

He tried to regain his balance, the boosters moving it opposite directions from the crash, and tripped over a moon rock that matched the environment all too well. Falling into a roll, he stopped himself in a position of having on knee pointing up and the other on the ground. He got up and turned towards the creature. It had the face of purest shock on as it looked up to him, a towering bi-pedal creature with the ability to crash into another with destructive force, and it could only make him smirk. He chuckled for a second, and remembered what was happening as he pulled out the wrench and lightly hit the end of it to his palm.

The horse, however, would not be killed off so easy, as it leaped up and took a defensive stance. Noticing that his window of opportunity was gone, he decided brute force was the best option to finish this creature breathing raggedly and tiredly. He started closing in on the horse, and soon was only roughly 10 feet away. Then, the horn of the creature lit up with a bright light. He wasn't affected by the brightness, thanks to the reflective visor in front of his face, but he saw something contrastingly dark come from the horn.

It appeared to be a dark substance, flowing out from the horn, and settling on the ground. It looked alive, and sentient, as it took a form that seemed quite ferocious. It was a large, leathery, gray creature, almost his height. It had bright yellow eyes, a soft, lighter underbelly, a menacing tail, and no legs. Its arms were almost human-like, bending with elbows and joints, yet it had large, pointed, horns where hands would be. They were ivory-like, almost like the "tusks" some animal he'd never seen had in the African Wild. Its short neck attached to a wide head, allowing the creature to fully show its vast array of small, but sharp, teeth. It had no visible ears, but its face, was oddly human. It had no eyes or a nose, just skin covering gapes where they would be. If Rick had to describe this thing in one word, it would be "Horrific."

The creature instantly lunged at him as soon as it fully formed. Caught by surprise, it tackled him to the floor, him landing on his back and the creature pinning him down with its weight. It moved its tail in front if it so it could hold down Rick's arms in one line, giving him nearly no chance to fight back. It grinned menacingly, drooling at its next meal to be, raising one of its tusk-appendages into the air for a theatrically(but deadly nonetheless) stab to his head. Rick braced himself for what would be coming.

Something however happened that he had no anticipated, as time was slowing down as the tusk fell. It was slowing to the point where it was moving at maybe an inch every other second instead of the swift stab in half a second. Even though the creature couldn't see it, there was something in his eyes. It wasn't defeat, or pride, or horror. It was rage, primal rage that ran in his systems and the systems of every human since the dawn of time for them.

It was fierce, it was cold, and it was remorseless. It made him into a temporarily fully enraged monster. In regular time, he moved with the swiftness unthinkable my most, as he removed the tail from his arms. He then turned the creature's arms against it, breaking it in several places, and redirected it straight into the creature's chest. It grin gone, only a grimace stood. He wasn't done with his carnage however, and he easily tossed the 700 pound creature off of him, knocking it to the ground in horror.

The creature wasn't the only one looking in horror, as the large horse was watching the whole thing play out in front of it. The creature removed the tusk from its chest, allowing blood to gush free from its gape as it winced, despite only having a mouth. Rick grabbed it by its neck, thrusting it into the air before him. The creature slashed and whipped his chest as hard as it could in a last ditch effort to kill or at least stop him. He gave the lacerations, bruises, and broken bones of his chest no attention however, as he gaze was fixed on the creature.

It was losing strength, not allowing it to fight back anymore, only to watch in horror as the cold-blooded bi-pedal _monster_ gripped it by its neck, choking the life out of it. Rick pulled out his rivet launcher, and put shot one every few inches up, starting from the limp tail. The creature screamed in agony, but he continued, still enraged. He reached the head and fired still; the creature stayed alive however, despite its grievous wounds and metal objects set into its hide.

Then Rick did something quite horrible, at least by human standards. He put away his rivet launcher, and replaced it with his blowtorch. He raised it above the head of the creature and turned it on to its maximum setting, a dangerous function that was known to cause work related accidents. The incredibly fierce flame was lowered on the head of the creature and burnt and bore its way through the top of the head, making a single line of a burn straight through to the center of its head.

It was disgusting, to say the least. And yet Rick stopped, and put the blowtorch away. The horse creature stared intently and fearfully at what was to happen, as the bi-pedal demon put both its hands into the leathery creatures head, and slowly started to pull it apart from the center. The creature was too tired to resist, too beaten to fight back, and just screamed at an ear-piercing capacity.

Rick was pulling it at its seams, and worked his way down from the head to the chest. Suddenly, Rick saw the creature's arms puff up, but in his feral state, ignored it. They expanded as he pulled harder and harder, and soon they were almost balloon-like. The arms eventually lost their elasticity, and exploded in a bloody mist, chunks of meat and skin strewn all over the landscape. One thing, however, stood out. The hand-tusks were launched straight into Rick.

He took no notice of the ivory protrusions in him, one shot into the stomach area, the other in the right side of his upper chest, exactly opposite of where his heart was. He finished the creature with one final tug and rip, making an oddly pleasurable tearing sound as the skin and muscle separated from the two sides. The creature was dead, nothing would survive being stabbed, choked, shot, burnt, and torn in two.

Both sides of the creature lay in each of his hands at both sides of his body, as he leaned forward, breathing raggedly. He dropped the pieces, and returned to normal as his adrenaline high was starting to wear off. He looked lower, and stood tall, examining his body as he moved his hands around his chest. Blood was leaking from the areas stabbed with the tusks. It seemed like it would definitely be fatal, but he wasn't feeling pain just yet, it seemed the chip was being useful and forcing morphine into his system.

The horse looked at him, watching with great intrigue as to what he would do next, die or try to stay alive by running away. He did neither, as the horse showed great disgust, shock, and respect as he slowly pulled the tusk from his gut. It slid out easily enough, and soon it was fully out. He placed it on his belt. He would remember this, and would keep a prize for it.

He looked over the wound. It was leaking bad, and left a large hole in him. Luckily it didn't fully penetrate, thanks to the suit's kinetic reflection system. He moved to grab the other tusk and gave it a slower pull, his breathing getting more stressed by the second. It had definitely hit harder, and one of his lungs. Eventually, it slid out, a white curve covered in blood, _his _blood. He decided to keep this one too, it wasn't something worth leaving behind.

He reached behind him towards his belt and retrieved a canister that glowed a sickly foam green. He took a syringe from his belt, and it was quite large, looking almost like what one would see a medical turkey baster to look like. He pushed the syringe into the canister and held a button near the nozzle down, making a hissing sound as foam compressed into the syringe. It was in fact, sickly green looking, yet glowed warmly.

He removed the syringe and pushed it against his abdomen wound. Wincing, he slowly injected the foam into the deepest parts of the wound, slowly moving it outwards as the foam filled in for the muscle and flesh. He reached the surface of it and covered the wound and tear in his suit. He then moved over to his upper chest and did the same. After a few moments, both spots of foam seemed to solidify, changing in color. It started to change to his skin tone at first, leveling out and then adding a layer for the dark gray suit. It had successfully converted itself into his missing flesh and took its place, essentially making it seem as though it never happened.

He sighed deeply, glad that it hadn't been more grievous. But it was no time to celebrate; he was extremely week in this stage of recovery. His heart was weakened, and his new lung was just starting to grasp the concept of breathing. But he looked up and knew he had to finish this. There was that damn horse thing, staring at him with a slack jaw, as if it were shocked and bewildered at what it just saw. That really irked him, who was it to judge him struggling to survive?

He reached to his belt and held his wrench in an offensive stance. The horse creature snapped out of its confusion and gave a fierce look as it realized that Rick definitely wanted to fight some more. It charged at him, putting its horn first as a lance to try and stab right through him. And it did, right into his heart. He hadn't bothered defending against it, he wanted this.

"Gotcha, bitch."

The creature's eyes widened at this, as these were the first words exchanged since his arrival. He then grabbed the horn, keeping it in against the creatures will to retrieve it from his body. He then used this chance to lift his large, red pipe wrench and swing it full force into the left wing of the horse creature. It cried in pain at this, but he continued, switching positions with his hands, allowing him to cripple the right wing.

He then, removed the reflective curtain face of his helmet.

"I'll let you see me for what I am before I make you regret ever crossing me. You should have known better."

He lifted the wrench one last time and pulled out the horn in one swift motion, holding the head of the creature in place. He swung down, striking the area where the horn and the head attached. Blood was tossed from the head as two very loud cracks was heard, one being the skull, the other the horn breaking in half. He let go, allowing the creature free.

The creature was wailing, crying, and possibly cursing as it grabbed at its broken face and crumbling horn, wobbling around until it finally evaporated into a fine, sparkly, dark energy that quickly slinked away from him, across the moon's surface, and into the darker side. It receded, probably to recover one day and hunt him out again. It was definitely that same energy that saw him earlier over the crater's edge.

He relaxed, it was over for now. But he would probably not survive for the next minute at most without an amazing medical miracle happening right that second. He felt too tired to reach around and grab the foam and syringe, but he knew he had to try anyway.

"Heh… shit… I really need help, hah… Fuck, the foam is so far. Ugh, might as well try anyway. I might be able to actually survi-", He looked down, near the hole at his heart. There was another horn there, smaller but still as deadly. It removed itself slowly, and with the last of his strength, he turned around. His legs were giving out on him, but he managed his balance as he saw something pretty cute despite it fatally wounding him.

There stood the smaller, lighter horse, with a bloody horn. It had tears rolling down its cheeks, was bruised, cut, and bleeding itself. He felt remorse for a moment, and motioned his hand to pet its mane right before he fell onto his back. His vision was blurring and fading, as he watched more tears roll down the horse's cheeks; it truly showed remorse as it watched him slowly dying on the ground. A white light was slowly creeping up his center of vision, as his breathing was becoming more and more troubled. He coughed up some blood, letting it trickle down his mouth and neck, and more tears started to roll from the creature.

It looked guiltily one last time at him, with almost pleading eyes. Then it stretched its wings, and leaped off the moon towards Earth. It flapped a few times as he watched it leave him, and it seemed truly beautiful as it moved away from him. He coughed up more blood and slowly felt the last of his life slipping away. He sighed one last time, and considered what had happened to him in the last 10 minutes. Time seemed so slow, but he was sure it was only 10 minutes.

He remembered waking up, regaining his senses, starting up his muscles, and shaking off the stasis. The stasis, oh how he wished he were resting in it right now. He might have lived through this if he was in stasis right now. Then he remembered his shock at what had happened, fixing the shuttle, and seeing the large horse for the first time. He chuckled for a moment; he really had no chance of surviving this did he?

"Damn, this is it… if only it didn't end like this, I wanted to get back home…"

But that was a lie, he knew it. He knew he survived against a creature that any other human would have cowered in fear at, and yet, he was the one invoking fear into the creature. He chuckled, he couldn't remember much about what happened during that time, but it must have been good. Then he realized something, he wouldn't have chosen to die any other way. The life finally faded from him as the arm he didn't realize was reaching for the Earth fell.

* * *

><p>In space, the miniature horse looked back at the moon as it flew towards Earth. It gasped as it saw the body of the heartless and cold demon she slayed started to evaporate into bright, shining specs of energy, starting from the legs up. As it reached the head and completely removed traces of the body, her already tear-stained coat was receiving another flow of tears. It had saved her, and she killed it. She noticed that the bright energy dissipated slowly, moving together into another direction. She thought nothing of it, other than that it seemed beautiful as the night sky itself.<p>

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><p>Notes:<p>

This was the longest chapter so far, and the most gory and grimdark. I really liked this one; it allowed me to develop the character in a way that I wanted since the start. I wanted a survivor, who adapted, fought, and could be seen as both an antagonist and protagonist. This is where Rick came in; hopefully, I'll be able to carve more of a personality and backstory into him, other than all the cursing and ripping of body parts. I enjoyed writing this, and I liked writing about how the primal and feral side of one human took over in conjunction with a suit and chip to make a deadly juggernaut.

Anyway, I just realized that I unintentionally used the same name of the alias I used to write this fanfic. It's a coincidence and a mistake most likely. I really have nothing to do with the name "Rick", but I thought it suited the idea I had for the character, for one reason or another. Despite my frowning upon of using an author's name in his own story, I'll keep it instead of editing it out with another name. Also, I think it's worth noting that the name of both the character and the alias that I use came from the rapper Rick Ross. It may be a bit unorthodox, but I was hoping with his name, it would inspire me to put a little bit more "Boss" into both the character and story.

As always, I enjoy reading reviews, and if you'd like to shoot me an email regarding questions/comments/suggestions for the story at Keep it trilla.


	5. Chapter 5

**Stasis**

**Chapter 5: Perspective  
><strong>

**By: Stillmatic**

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><p>"Luna, where were you all day? I was worried!"<p>

The large goddess moved to her younger, smaller sister. She was tall, white, and had a sense of grandeur just like her opposite, Nightmare Moon. She carried herself with grace, and the charm of royalty. She had a white coat, multi-colored mane, a pair of large wings, and a long horn atop her head. She wore a large gold necklace adorned by a single gem, and a gold tiara in the same fashion. On her back end was a mark of the sun, shining bright and fiercely. She was quite an interesting looking _horse._

The other goddess landed safely on the balcony of her private quarters, making sure as to not hit the stone rail. She had obviously been through a lot of stress, as evidenced by her lacerations, bruises, dirty and tear-stained coat, and the thin areas of dried blood. Her eyes were filled with a deep sorrow, as if she had watched terrible events unfold, or perhaps knew of more to come. She stood her ground, staring into space, considering what she had seen and learned with the personal time she took on the moon.

She shuddered as she thought about what she had done; such a cruel act to someone who was possibly intentionally saving her. Her sister rushed to her side, worry in her eyes. She hadn't seen here sister like this in a long time, which brought painful memories back for her as well. The smaller princess shook the thoughts from her head, she couldn't change anything now.

"Luna, where did you go? What happened to you? Did someone hurt you?"

"No, no one hurt me; I guess you could say I hurt myself."

"Whatever do you mean?"

"I had an encounter with Nightmare Moon."

"What? Is she back here in Equestria? Where did you see her?"

"Let me start from the beginning, Sister. I think you'd better sit down for this."

* * *

><p>Luna walked over to the balcony, taking in the calm night. She needed something like that; something calm that might just influence her to become calmer. But it wouldn't work, it couldn't. Ever since her return to Equestria from being stuck on the moon as Nightmare Moon, many avoided her at all costs. Even her servants tried to avoid her as much as possible, subtly discouraging her from calling for any type of service. It didn't seem in the least bit fair, they thought she hadn't existed up until a year ago, and as soon as she shows up, instant distrust.<p>

She sighed, and looked up at the stars, taking in the beauty of each one. They were magnificent, and so enigmatic. She always wanted to travel the stars, to find other worlds filled with other creatures that didn't judge her as harshly as others here did. It seemed like a pipe dream, unattainable to anyone.

She moved over to her telescope and took a deep look at her celestial body, the Moon. It was oddly bright tonight, which she didn't remember making it so. She gave it some thought and just figured that she probably did and most likely forgot. But it seemed entrancing nonetheless. She may have been on the Moon for a millennium, but she still knew its beauty.

Suddenly as if she were hit by lighting, inspiration struck her. It was a plan of preparation, a step forward that would allow her dream to be fulfilled. She considered its plausibility, and it didn't seem too farfetched, at least not with magic to aid her. She decided that it wouldn't be wise to give away any information just yet, not until she tested her idea first. She decided then, she would reach the moon and set up there a home of some kind, the first step to traveling the universe for her and all of Equestria.

Possibilities spawned all over the inside of her head, and she took note of every one. One thought however, was brutishly truthful. How exactly would she be able to get to the Moon without getting killed by space in the process? Even as a goddess, she couldn't just _fly _to the Moon with her wings. They would never be able to allow her to move in space, let alone survive in the cold vacuum.

Another idea sprang from her head, one in regards to _magic. _It wasn't a bad idea, but it really didn't seem like it was ever possible due to there never being a demand in allowing the vacuum of space to become more "habitable". She didn't want to waste time considering it though, so she decided that a simple spell that would shield her from the cold, and allow her to move in space was enough.

"It shouldn't be too hard to create a spell for that; I was one of the best spellmakers back in my day," she smiled proudly. "I do hope it works though, it would be so horrible for it to not."

She checked a large clock opposite of her bed in her quarters, it was past midnight, and the night was her best chance of reaching the moon unnoticed. She moved inside and went to a desk that held all of her notes regarding the universe. She was quite adept at keeping track of all the little and large things she noticed in the night sky.

She opened the upper-right drawer and pulled out a notebook and her quill and ink. Considering what properties she would have to change to allow the spell's desired effect, she wrote down everything important. Within five minutes however, she had already finished what was in reality a complicated spell that she called "Simple even for the youngest of magic users". Complex as it was, it held nothing over her ability to cast, and she knew that she had gotten it right.

She was nearing the balcony again before taking off and hesitated. Was this really a good idea? She did have a bad gut feeling about this, but she pushed it away as it being nervousness. She took off into the sky and flew at the speed only a living goddess could. She reached the edge of the atmosphere surprisingly quickly, and lit her horn. A dark magic flew around her, forming a protective bubble of magic. It soon faded, but she knew it was still there, only invisible to the naked eye.

She flew with full confidence into space. Gravity held no effect on her; she was unstoppable at this point. She knew it would take at least an hour or so until she reached the moon, and she had to make sure she would arrive back before sunrise.

As time passed, her mind filled with even more possibilities on what she could do with something like this. There was power in evasiveness, and what better place to run than into space, where no one could follow you? It was ingenious; no one would disturb her when she reached the Moon. It was like a safe haven, only barren and rocky.

Time must have passed quickly, because she had, to her own shock, arrived at the Moon. It was an amazing place; it was so peaceful, yet so dead, and unlivable. Making her way towards it, she shot a powerful terra-spell at it. When it hit its mark, a crater on the surface, a light-purple field flew around Moon and spread, right before going invisible. It was essentially the same thing as she had done to herself, only on a bigger scale.

Doing such a thing drained her of quite a bit of magic and stamina. She quickly landed on the Moon, the newly made atmosphere pulling her down. Deciding to rest for a few moments, she kneeled down to allow herself some comfort as she tried resting. Unintentionally, she fell asleep, making light snoring sounds as her head bobbed. The spells and the flight over must have really taken a toll on her.

* * *

><p>Nightmare Moon, as she was called, watched from her dark mesa on the Moon. She saw her ex-alter ago sound asleep no less than a few minutes away in flying distance. She chuckled, her plan went smoothly, and that was something worth relishing. With her ability to insert and edit thoughts of those in despair, she easily fooled her more timid image into coming into a full-blown trap. Her horn lit, and launched dark globs of energy into space. They quickly turned invisible, save for a few distortions in the air.<p>

This would prevent any unwelcome visitor from approaching the Moon at all, unless of course the thing that came was huge and able to stand direct gravitational hits. She chuckled again; this would be almost too easy. She looked over to the sleeping creature and thought about all the horrible things she could to do her. She _would _have her revenge today.

Something was happening however, and it was nowhere near pleasant for Nightmare Moon. Something was breaking through her barriers and moving past her defenses. She couldn't tell where it was, or what it was, but it was large and reaching the Moon faster than any pony could. She tried locating the discrepancies, as to find where this thing was entering from, which it really shouldn't be able to.

Concentrating, she found that whatever it _was,_ it was very near, as in within at least within a mile's distance from her. This worried her; something powerful enough to push past her gravitational shields was coming in very close to her.

Suddenly, the Moon shook with a horrible force, trembling the ground for miles. She instantly could tell where the landing was, and turned her head towards a crater on her far right. A large dust cloud and some smoke were kicked up in the resulting crash of whatever it was that had arrived. Smoke meant however, that it could have been a dragon and that would be a problem on such an open area. It seemed plausible, just a bit odd that it somehow survived space.

She grimaced; she would end its life before it had a chance to attack her. As she moved towards the crater, she saw from the corner of her eye, the Princess had woken from the crash. She seemed confused, and most likely (knowing her) wouldn't be going anywhere. Nightmare Moon continued to the crater and converted herself to her dark energy form, allowing for an easier time sneaking around. She soon reached the crater and creeped up to the edge. What she saw was interesting, it seemed so very odd.

There stood a white creature, fat and ugly, and laying there on the ground. Smoke was coming from what she saw as the backend of the creature. She watched it for a few moments; it didn't seem to move at all, let alone breathe. She considered it dead, if it was ever alive in the first place. Deciding to wait a while just to make sure it was definitely dead, she stood there for over an hour. She could of swore she heard talking or some other noise coming from it. She didn't know what to make of this, and gave the creature a closer look.

It seemed to have been hurt, in a sense, as there was a large hole in its side. Suddenly, another hole was opened near the original, this one larger and more squarish. She gasped when she there was another _creature_ coming out of the larger one. This one was smaller, stood on two legs, and was dark gray for the most part, except where what she assumed was the head, where a mirror was in its place.

It walked out and over to the hole, carrying a large sheet of metal in its arms. It laid the metal down and went back inside the larger creature, and came out after a few seconds with an odd looking piece of equipment. She couldn't understand what it was, but it didn't seem too threatening. Then it lifted the metal over the hole and held the tool to the top-right corner of it. There was a flash and a loud sound as it was launched back an inch, but also launched a small shiny thing directly into the metal. Her heart jumped at the sound, it seemed to shoot tiny little things into much larger things, and that positively worried her. What other things could this creature have at its disposal?

After putting enough shiny objects into the metal, the creature put away the tool and grabbed another near it, this one seeming nowhere near threatening. But as the creature turned a knob, sparks and fire flew from the mouth of the tool, hitting the metal. What kind of sorcery was this? What living thing was able to conjure fire so easily, and with such control?

The creature seemed to be focusing solely on the metal and the tool at this point. She could have attacked, but she was interested, and gathering intel on your enemy was more important that jumping head first into a battle. She learned that the hard way not too long ago, and she was still cursing herself for her lack of foresight. She wouldn't let anything like happen again, not now, not ever.

After an hour of waiting however, the creature finally turned off its fire-conjurer and got up from its sitting position. It then looked over to its right and didn't move for a few minutes. She peered at its handiwork and was impressed that it was able to force the metal to the other creature so easily; most creatures would buck and retaliate when exposed to fire. She considered that, maybe it wasn't a living thing.

Then, to her surprise, it turned and made direct eye contact with her as if it knew she was there the whole time. Her first reaction was to fight, but she soon felt the presence of someone moving around behind her. Seemed like the little Princess had started moving around. She moved from the crater within nearly a second of the bi-pedal seeing her.

She zoomed towards the newly-awaken Princess; this would be too easy. Making haste, she arrived within a few seconds, landing 20 feet away from the Princess, making direct eye contact and using a malevolent smirk. The Princess cowered for a moment, taken aback at the very idea that Nightmare Moon had still been alive.

"You're dead! How are you here? Everypony witnessed you being destroyed!"

"Tsk, really, is that how you greet your former self?"

"I was never you! It was you who was in control, you who did all of those things!"

"Really? And who let me in? We were really doing so well together too; we were fighting that _tyrant_ quite well with our forces."

"Don't… call… my sister… A TYRANT!" Light burst from her eyes and horn, a magnificent light show that stunned and blinded Nightmare Moon. She started launching large volleys of dark energy. As each hit near Nightmare Moon, explosions of dark energy burst from the volleys. After launching a dozen, the smoke and dust finally cleared, revealing that Nightmare Moon was unharmed, and worst of all, smiling.

"So you want to battle then? How about a _duel?_"

"I accept, what are the terms?" Princess Luna was falling straight for Nightmare Moon's trap, but maybe it wasn't going to end as either thought.

"If _I _win, I get to return to Equestria and you stay here. If _you_ win, not that that's likely, I'll let you return to Equestria. Sound fair?"

"Fine… Let's start in the way we both know?"

"Mmm, you have been trapped a long time, that way is positively _ancient_."

Nightmare Moon lifted a large ball of dark energy into the air, where it was held in place. It stayed around 50 feet in the air, waiting to drop and make a crater away from the two.

"Ready, young one?"

Luna grimaced, "Start."

The dark energy ball fell, coming to the Moon quite fast. They both waited, biding their time until the ball reached the surface. This would become intense, as both had underestimated each other. Nightmare Moon thought Luna was still as weak-minded as ever, and Luna thought Nightmare Moon's power had only increased from her time in the Moon. Both were wrong.

The ball finally hit the ground, and both fired direct beams of energy at each other, both hitting their marks. Nightmare Moon seemed less fazed by the attack, as Luna's body starting forming a bruise. They both shook off their daze and readied themselves again. They both looked at each other, and another ball fell. They both launched equally stronger attacks this time, denting Nightmare Moons armor, and cutting Luna.

This continued for quite a long time, at least to they it did. In duels, time seemed to either stop or slow down, and it had only been roughly ten minutes of dueling before both were near complete exhaustion, wounded, and bleeding. Nightmare Moon was quite surprised that Luna was still standing at this point, but not even surprise could hide disdain. She was becoming quite frustrated at the thought that she's been fighting something so weak for so _long!_ She decided she would finish this now.

"You little foal; you couldn't have survived this long! No one survives this long! THIS! IS! OVER!"

She charged an exceptionally powerful attack, leaving her with only a little magic left. This would either end the battle in her favor, or turn against her and allow her to lose. Before Luna could react, Nightmare Moon grunted and shot a large beam of dark energy. Luna gasped in shock, 'That cheat! I should have seen this coming, especially from her!'

That beam had connected directly, crushing one of her ribs, and bruising and cutting her easily. She was still in the beam as she fell over, completely exhausted to the point where she couldn't move, let alone fight anymore. The trick had worked; she would have to stay here for who knows how long, as Nightmare Moon came back to Equestria and did who knows what. She cried at that; because she had been stupid and thought it would be a good idea to come to the Moon, her sister and her people would suffer for it.

She heard something happening in the background, but she couldn't open her eyes to focus what it was. Maybe Nightmare Moon was going to finally finish her off? It sounded like there was fighting, and lots of tumbling and falling. She felt the ground shake twice, and she still couldn't get herself to look.

Luna felt Nightmare Moon conjure something with the last of her magic, something alive. She would probably make something else do her dirty work of killing her. But she felt the ground shake again, something was definitely happening, and it wasn't focused on her. Another shake occurred; this must have been some intense fighting. She heard screaming, not of anything she had heard of before, and it was loud and more like the screech of something dying. She heard loud clicks, and more screaming from whatever it was getting hurt.

She heard something different now, besides the screaming, there was a loud hissing sounds, the smell of burning flesh, and what sounded like a campfire's crackling, only constant and faster. She was disgusted by that smell, and it forced her to open her eyes just enough to make out what was happening in front of her. What she saw, was pure horror, disgusting, and it made her sick to her stomach.

She saw two alien creatures; one was like a snake, except it had a raw hide filled with shiny objects, a head with a large hole in it and only a mouth, and two large horns on its broken forearms. She shuddered at that thing; it was _nightmarish._ She looked at was holding it into the air, and almost gasped. It was _huge!_ It was easily double her size, and it stood only on two legs! It used its front legs to lift other creature (she would call it a Nightmare) into the air, where it held it for a moment. The Nightmare couldn't fight back at this point; it was far too fatigued and damaged to do anything.

The two-legged creature then put its, well she didn't know what those were, they weren't hooves, whatever it was that was on the end of its front legs into the hole in the head of the Nightmare. The Nightmare was using a high-pitched scream now, obviously scared about what was going to happen. Even she felt scared for it; she knew this wouldn't end well.

The large bi-pedal pulled slowly at the hole in the head, slowly ripping through the bone, muscle, and skin as it worked its way down. The arms on the Nightmare however, grew larger, as if a gas had filled them. She saw what was soon to happen, and it did happen. Before she knew it, she heard a loud pop, and saw two horns deep in the body of the two-legged one. She was shocked to see it still standing after such grievous wounds. But it simply shrugged it off until it finally ripped the Nightmare in two.

Focusing more now, she decided to get a real look at this creature. It was shiny and gray, looked metallic, and had a round head, where one half was like a mirror. The whole Moon and space reflected of its head, and it was a sight to behold. This creature was definitely of higher intelligence if it could show such things on itself with ease. It looked menacing, depending on how you viewed it; it could either look like a terror in itself, or just something that has been pushed too far.

Either way, it was breathing heavily from its wounds. She was almost about to get up and help it, but couldn't on account of her injuries, deciding that it was better anyway due to this thing easily could turn on her. It started to pull out the horns from its body, blood dripping everywhere as it removed them and stashed them on its body.

She saw it reach around itself and pull out two things from something on its waist. It pulled out what looked like a syringe she had seen in the hospitals she'd visited, and the other was a large cylinder that glowed an ugly green. The creature stuck the syringe in and took green foam from the container. It returned the container and placed the syringe in the holes from the horns. She couldn't clearly see what was happening, but it seemed as though only a few moments later, it was fully healed, showing no signs of scars.

It seemed like a miracle, and she knew if her people had that foam, it would greatly benefit them. She would research into it later, if she ever got back that is. She could have sworn she heard something like a sigh coming from near her. Her focus turned back to the creature, as it was breathing raggedly, and Nightmare Moon with a slacked jaw watched with her.

The creature took out a metal object she saw on its back, raising it offensively. It was bright red, and long, looking like it could do some serious damage in the right hooves. Nightmare Moon fell out of her daze and gave a look of deep hate, and charged horn first at the creature. The creature, however, didn't do a thing to stop her. It had allowed the avatar of complete darkness and all that was evil to stab it in the upper body.

It then grabbed the horn, keeping it in. What was this thing doing! It would die easily from the blow itself, and now it was keeping the horn in? But what she soon heard would really surprise her.

"Gotcha, bitch."

It had spoken! This thing that seemed so brutish and deadly, was speaking easily and in a fluent tongue. It did however have an odd accent, but she shrugged it off, as she was far to shocked to think this thing was able of communicating directly through speech.

It lifted the metal object into the air, bringing it down with crushing force as it hit Nightmare Moon's left wing. Nightmare Moon cried at this, true fear in her eyes. It seemed the earlier fight with the Nightmare had taught her a few things on how cruel this creature was. It switched positions, now holding the red piece of metal over her right wing, also hitting it with enough force to cripple it.

Nightmare Moon cried louder, she wasn't used to this kind of pain. Then Luna saw something more interesting than the creature speaking. The reflective side of its head lifted upwards, showing something quite remarkable. It was so _different _than anything she had ever seen. It had a face, with a mouth, and what she could observe as the eyes, ears, and nose. It was radically different from pony physiology.

It spoke again, this time with more contempt in its voice. It chilled her, how could it think that _Nightmare Moon_ was below it? As much as she despised her, Nightmare Moon was one of the most powerful creatures she had ever known. And here was this new creature, speaking down to her. It, for lack of a better word, was amazing.

"I'll let you see me for what I am before I make you regret ever crossing me. You should have known better."

Nightmare Moon's eyes widened at this, and she saw it lift the wrench on last time, higher in the air than before. As if automatically, it pulled out the horn as it swung down, yet kept Nightmare Moon's head in place. As the metal object connected with Nightmare Moon, Luna witnessed blood spew in all directions from her head. What really frightened her, and made her pity Nightmare Moon, was that her horn was nearly_ destroyed_! That was any unicorn or alicorn's worst fear, losing their horn. Something that has been with you from the start, suddenly taken away? She shuddered; it was not a good fate for anypony.

Nightmare Moon was destroyed mentally, and physically to an extent, from what had transpired. She wailed loudly, crying and trying to look for the missing part of her horn. When she couldn't, she suspected it was gone, out of reach somewhere. Thinking that the creature was going to attack again, she morphed into dark energy and slid as fast as possible to the dark side of the Moon.

The creature watched Nightmare Moon slink away, and started to mumble something. Luna, realizing that this was her opportunity, took initiative to stop this creature from harming others, despite it having saved her. She knew it wasn't the right thing to do to it, but it could turn against her at any moment. Gathering her remaining strength and courage, she steeled herself and got up slowly.

She slowly walked behind the creature, trying to make the least amount of noise possible. She found it odd that she was able to sneak up on it, despite the fact that it obviously had the capability to be fully aware of its surroundings. She shrugged it off quickly, and closed the distance. Lowering her head, she built the momentum she needed to penetrate the creature fully, in the same spot as Nightmare Moon had. It seemed ideal, as the creature was obviously hurt the most there.

She then lifted her horn, and gored the creature, going through to the other side of its body. She slowly pulled out her horn, being as careful as possible. The creature turned around unsteadily, as if it were going to fall any moment. Then she realized what she had done. This thing had looked directly into her eyes, and she could see all the anguish it had gone through. Its eyes were bloodshot, as if death itself was creeping quickly into them. There was soon anger in those same eyes, and then they lowered to a blanker, more forgiving stare. She couldn't understand what to make of this, but she felt horrible.

The creature she had just about killed, didn't even _care! _She had started crying by now, not knowing any other way to deal with the guilt she felt. But it moved its arm appendage to her head, as if it were going to pet her. She closed her eyes; she was going to allow it, just not to ruin its final moments. But she never felt it; she only heard a loud thud on the ground. She opened her eyes to see the creature stare at her from the floor, its eyes slowly glazing over to grayness.

She felt horrible, and she showed it; she was about to go into a full-out sob, but managed to keep it to a large flow of tears. She noticed something in one of its hoof-appendages. She looked closely to find it was in fact part of Nightmare Moon's horn. But her thoughts were interrupted when the creature gave a loud, wet cough. She saw something red come out of its mouth and down its neck.

She didn't think it was possible, but she was silently crying even harder now. She just couldn't deal with seeing the blood she had spilled. She turned from the sight; she knew she had to get out of here now, or she may regret seeing what was to come. She gave one last look before taking off, and she felt utterly saddened about what she had done. Is this how she would repay the soul that had saved her? Was she no better than Nightmare Moon?

Reaching a higher altitude now, she decided it would be best to go back to the Castle now. She turned back, and saw something quite odd, if not amazing. The creature was turning into energy! And quickly at that. It had only been roughly five or ten seconds until it was completely gone, as if it was never there (except for the blood-stained ground). She started crying again at the beauty of it, she honestly couldn't help it.

Her tired mind slowly went numb; she needed to rest soon. She was about to start focusing on flight when she saw the energy move en masse towards a specific direction. She couldn't give it another thought though; she was far too tired at this point. Sighing, she flew back to Equestria, in thankfully one piece.

* * *

><p>"I see, and what else do you know about this creature?"<p>

"Nothing, only that it could speak, walks on two legs, and was smart enough to outdo Nightmare Moon. As far as I know, it's dead, and almost all proof is now gone. I'm sorry for leaving like that Sister, I'm not sure what came over me."

"It's fine, Luna. All that matters is that you've come back safely; save for those nasty cuts and bruises. We should get you checked out soon, it must hurt horribly."

"Yes, it definitely does. At least now we won't have to worry about Nightmare Moon for quite a while," she grimaced at what she saw back there, the crying, the yelling, and the blood. It would be stuck with her for as long as she lived, always creeping about in her mind.

"Yes, thanks to that creature. Quite intriguing how it fought one of her Nightmares and managed to heal itself. Not only that, but managed to kill it _and _cripple Nightmare Moon? I wish I could have met this creature, only to thank it for its service."

"I don't think you would want to, Sister. It obviously didn't take well to large creatures around it, and if it was able to do all that, just think of what it could do if it suddenly decided to attack us. I don't think I'd like the outcome."

"You do have the first-hand experience, so I'll take your word for it. Now, please, come with me to the infirmary, you're still bleeding."

"Yes, Sister. Also, should I mention this to anyone? What if something related to this happens?"

"I'd think it would be best to keep this between us, Luna. We wouldn't want everypony working themselves up over something they would never see."

'There was some kind of irony in that', Luna thought. 'People didn't even think I existed up until a year ago, and here I am, alive. No one thought they'd ever see me, and yet I arrived.'

Walking behind her bigger sister, she looked back and out the balcony. The moon was gone, and replaced by the bright sun now. She wondered if that creature had maybe somehow survived. She threw that thought away quite quickly, 'No one could survive that much suffering and pain in such a short time.' Luna caught up with her sister and followed her out of her quarters, and towards the infirmary. As she was leaving, she could have sworn she still smelled blood hanging in the air.

* * *

><p>Sorry for the long ass wait, I really didn't like this chapter. Anyway, things seemed to have turned out fine so far for Luna, unlike a certain human who's been converted into a bunch of particles. To explain why Rick is the way he is most of the time, I'm going to attribute his lack of sincerity, peacefulness, and foresight to two things: the Chip, and Stasis. I won't go into what they really do, it should eventually come into the story later. Personally, I like the headstrong, bad-attitude, asshole that is Rick, even if it becomes a bit excessive. Anyway, expect the next chapter "soon". Keep it trilla.<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

**Stasis**

**Chapter 6: Burning The Fuse**

**By: Stillmatic**

* * *

><p>"<em>Well well well, what do we have here? Another American dog? You've strayed far from home, no? Maybe I should call the pound on you…" The large Russian walked behind the American agent sitting in the chair, arms and legs strapped down. The Russian lifted a cigar from his mouth and pressed it into the back of the American's neck. He yelled loudly; the burning felt so painful, but it was nothing for what was to come. The Russian removed the cigar, leaving a nice burn mark into the skin.<em>

"_Ready to talk now, or do I have to get help?"_

_The American looked up to the Russian and spat in his face, "Fuck. You."_

_That had earned him a quick punch to the cheek. It wasn't the hardest he'd ever been hit, but a punch was still a punch. It stunned him for a second, as the Russian moved in front of him, grabbing him by his chin._

"_You really want to make this hard don't you? All you Americans think you're big shit, trying to keep your secrets and protect your country with your fake patriotism. It disgusts me how you can lie to yourself like that. Please, do give up before I have to call in some help, save us both some trouble."_

_The American looked directly into the Russians eyes and said, "Bring out your best." _

"_Very well," the Russian turned and yelled to the reinforced door in front of the chair. "Doctor, I could use some assistance for a moment. Would you kindly come in and help?" Inside the bleak room with only a single light, there was silence. Then, the door swung open, slamming against the concrete wall it was attached to. Both men were caught off guard by such a sudden movement and sound._

_Out of the darkness, a man in a white doctor's coat and military boots walked in. He stood slightly shorter than the other men, but still had a strong demeanor on him. He wore a stethoscope over his neck, which was purely cosmetic most of the time, and kept his black hair combed back. He carried a large medical bag in one of his hands, and it looked positively ancient in age. _

"_Guten morgen, guten morgen, my friends. I've come to assist in," he pointed to the Russian, "Information acquisition," then pointed to the American, "and keeping ze 'patient' alive. Very well, shall we start?" He pulled out two thick rubber gloves from his bag, and put them on, letting a loud snap sound as he pulled them farther than they were meant and released them. He grinned widely, and it made the American shiver. _

"_What's wrong, cold? How about a smack to keep you warm?" The Russian pulled his hand back in a wide arc, but right before he could, he was grabbed from behind. "What th-" _

_He was being held in a choke hold by the German doctor and had a handkerchief held to his mouth. He slowly started losing consciousness, and soon stopped struggling. The doctor reached down with a free hand pulled out a small, silenced pistol from his bag. He pushed the limp body of the Russian forward and onto the floor, landing with a thud. He kneeled down near his head and fired the pistol against it. _

"_Hah, oh god, Tobias you crazy asshole, you almost had me going for a second there."_

"_Ja, maybe I should be on one of ze hospital dramas in America. I could be famous with my acting skill!" He gave a grin, knowing full well what a joke that was. "Anyway, let us depart, no?"_

"_Right, don't want to be here when they come looking for this guy," the American said as he pointed to the body on the floor. He shook his arms and legs, indicating he would need help. "Doc?"_

"_Of course my friend, let me just," he went into his bag and pulled out a bonesaw, "get some tools." _

_The American's eyes widened at this, "Doc, get something else! I want to keep my body parts!" _

_But the doctor started anyway, cutting the restraints with no damage to the other man. The American got up from the chair, rubbing at his wrists._

"_Next time, find a knife."_

"_Ja, wonderful, now let's leave."_

"_Cool, so what's the plan?"_

"_Plan?"_

"_You came to rescue me without an escape plan? What the hell is wrong with you?"_

"_Nothing to worry at all, we shall take to the sewers! Quite ironic how I promote that idea, being a doctor, no?"_

"_Yeah, super. Let's just get the hell out of here, we probably have only a few minutes before they realize he isn't checking in."_

_Both the men walked out of the room, making as little noise as possible. They moved into a dark corridor, the only light being a few dim lamps every 20 feet. They continued down the corridor and turned right, towards a custodian's closet. It was dusty in there, as if no one had cleaned down here in years. They heard what sounded like yelling and doors being kicked in. _

_Suddenly, stomping and shouting was heard outside the small closet. Both men looked at each other and the doctor lifted a grate from the floor. The shouts were getting closer now, almost near the door. _

"_Go, now. I will hold them for a few moments. You must make it to ze end of ze tunnel to ze sewage dump. It may take as long as a few hours depending on how fast you travel. But do be cautious, they will surely send some search parties for quite a bit of time. I recommend finding Hadrian, he'll get you out lickety-spitz. Tell him Tobias sent you." _

_The German doctor pushed the man down the grate. He reached into his bag and pulled a small submachine gun out, loading it. He tossed it down to the American and closed the grate. He went into his bag again and pulled out another of the same weapon. _

"_Thanks, Doc. I really appreciate this."_

"_No problem, my friend. Just don't expect to hear from me any time soon!" He laughed loudly at this, getting the attention of FSB agents outside of the door he was near. "Now schnell, before zey notice you!"_

"_I won't forget this T."_

"_I should hope not, you seemed to be remembering it quite well right now."_

"_Yeah, well… What was that?"_

"_I said you're remembering it quite well right now."_

_There was a loud banging and some angry Russian "negotiation" thrown at the door._

"_What the hell does that mean?"_

"_I don't know, I'm just a figment of your imagination. Well, it was nice reliving zis, don't you think?"_

"_No, I don't think. What are you talking about?"_

"_Ugh, just wake up. You already know how this ends."_

_Suddenly, the world seemed to be zooming out, as if his vision was receding. Everything was flowing backwards; time seemed to go out of control. He looked at the doctor, who only wore a grin. 'What the fuck is happening!' _

_Everything was crumbling around him, the walls, the sewers, the ceiling, everything. It all fell into a dark black void, where they fell for an eternity. The area he was standing on was the last spot to fall, and soon, he too was in the void. Looking up as he fell, he screamed at the top of his lungs. He was panicking hard now, and he thought he was going to fall forever. _

_He then remembered what the doctor said, 'Just wake up.' He forced himself to try and wake up, but couldn't. There was something keeping him in, and it wouldn't let him out so easily. Trying to break out was near futile._

"_Fuck, what do I do?" He looked over to his right hand; the submachine gun was still there. He had a difficult choice to make; to try and wait it out, or kill himself in an attempt to wake up. He decided that the waiting was unbearable; it was eating away at his mind. He looked over the gun one last time, as he held it up to his temple. _

"_Peace out." Without another thought, he pulled the trigger. Everything went black as soon as he did, and existence stopped entirely._

* * *

><p>"Recipient successfully reconstructed. Ejecting current occupant now. Please stand by."<p>

Hissing, he could hear hissing. What did that mean? Was there a snake around? No, it couldn't be something living. He felt slow, like something was dragging him down. What was it that could be doing this to him? He couldn't open his eyes, he couldn't even breathe. What the hell was happening? The hissing stopped, that meant something was happening.

He heard a few clicks, and this time it wasn't a gun. The next sound was like a whooshing, as if someone opened one of those doors on those sci-fi shows that he saw on TV sometimes. Something felt all too familiar, and yet he couldn't place it. He felt warm air, something he thought he'd never feel again. It was amazing; it warmed his cold body and didn't leave him.

Suddenly, it dawned on him, and a flood of memories came rushing back. He had _died_, and yet here he was. 'It was this thing; I completely forgot that it did this for me. I'm lucky to have gotten one, unlike any of those other poor bastards.' He opened his eyes to a bright light, and started to adapt to new surroundings. Except, they weren't new at all, he was in his shuttle.

"So that's reconstruction? Felt like regular stasis to me." Rick looked at himself, and noticed he wore nothing at all. He also noticed no holes in his chest, but he still needed a pair of clothes. He started to slowly get out of the tube, restarting his systems and muscles. After roughly ten minutes of various stretches and other workouts, he was back to a sense of normalcy with his body. He walked over to a bin next to the tube and pulled out his previous clothing. Funny, reconstruction could take everything you were wearing and preserve it, but you still needed to deal with the holes in them later.

He started putting the clothing on, and noticed a few things in the bin with the clothes. He reached in as he finished putting on his shirt, taking out two tusks. He moved them in his hands for a bit and laid them on the floor. Going in again, he pulled out his wrench. He chuckled, "Good times…"

Lastly, he pulled out part of a horn. He inspected it, deciding what to do with it.

"When the hell did I pick this up? I should put it on the front of my Aston Martin… Better yet, it would look good on a chain." He pocketed it and looked at the empty bin. Where the hell was his suit?

As if it were reading his mind, there was that same toaster ding coming from the suit chamber.

"Suit repairs complete, have a nice day."

"Quick work, I like that."

Rick moved into the chamber once again to don his suit. He may not have needed it to survive outside, but he wouldn't take any chances. Settling in, the same process as before took over, with each piece coming together onto him. As it finished, it dinged again, slightly annoying Rick. He climbed out of the chamber and the diodes attached to his forehead, with the back veil coming up with it. Soon, the visor formed over the front of his face, giving him an alien look if he were seen by any other human.

"Still fits like a glove… At least the glove parts still do."

Now that he was fully equipped, he decided his next plan of action. Over the next hour, his options were limited to two only. The first was that he find a way to reach Earth, and the agency. The second was he stay and wait for a rescue team, which he doubt would come. Given no other _real_ option, he opted to find some way to get the shuttle up and running towards Earth.

His best chance of getting the shuttle pointing up was using a dynamic winch that was near the back of the shuttle. The problem with that however, was that it made enough noise to wake the neighborhood, and despite there not being any houses around, he felt like he was in quite a hotspot for aliens. Nonetheless, it was the quickest and most efficient way of dealing with the problem at hand, and he couldn't think of any other way to go about fixing it. He would be forced to defend it until the shuttle was upwards, at which point he'd grab it and make a mad dash for the shuttle, and force the shuttle from the Moon. Seemed easy enough.

Putting the wrench on his back, he walked to the farthest and most rarely used end of the shuttle. On top of a few large crates laid an odd generator/pulley combination that seemed quite sturdy. Looking it over, he nodded and lifted it up in front of him. He didn't remember it being this heavy, but at least the suit would supplement his strength, which allowed him to actually carry it. Walking over to the hatch, he held the winch to the wall, using a free hand to open the hatch. Looking outside, he turned both ways to ensure nothing was near him.

Satisfied, he continued out and to the rear of the shuttle. He set it down at least 10 feet from the rockets, and set up the magnetic spikes that held it firmly in the ground. Hearing the buzz from its activation, he grabbed the hook and cable off the winch, and proceeded to climb on top of the shuttle, towards the front. Soon, he was setting up and attaching the hook to a compartment that revealed metal ring the perfect size for the hook. Placing it in, he gave it a few tugs and nodded.

Rick closed the compartment and slid off the side of the shuttle, creating a cloud of moon dust and some large footprints as he landed. He walked over to the winch and decided it was now or never to start it. It sputtered for a few seconds as the crank slowly turned, pulling the cable. He was lucky he was on the Moon; the lower gravity would make it all the more easier. He pulled his wrench and held it steady as the loudness of the winch echoed throughout the Moon.

He stood there, not sure what to expect. As the winch started to pull the shuttle in an upwards position, he noticed that nothing seemed to come. Like the place was dead or something. He went over to a moon rock nearby and sat on it. Better to wait it out than just stand for no reason.

It had been at least a few minutes, because the shuttle was nearly in position. He moved over to the winch, ready to turn it off before it pulled too far and knocked the shuttle over onto its other side. As the shuttle quickly fell into place, he hit the kill switch and released the cable, not being able to unhook it from the ground. Now was the annoying part, getting the winch back into the shuttle.

Lifting it again, he moved over to the rockets and set it down to inspect the small area between them. There was a rarely used maintenance hatch in between the rockets, and it seemed it could be opened from his position. Unlocking it, he opened the hatch and looked up into it, seeing nothing but a red light illuminating various pipeworks and circuitry. He could definitely fit in, and maybe take the winch too, problem is that it was damn heavy.

He sighed, "Shit just can't be easy, can it?"

He ducked out from the hatch and dragged the winch under the hatch. He lifted himself through and pulled the winch with as much of his strength as possible. After a few moments, it made its way up to him, where he pulled it next to him, setting it down. He closed the hatch and locked it accordingly, right before taking the winch over to a small area, where he strapped it down into a small cubby designed for holding onto power tools.

He looked for a nearby ladder, and climbed it and went through another hatch to the normal area of the shuttle. It seemed different vertically, but he ignored it and climbed the rungs embedded into what was the floor earlier. Moving upwards, he reached the reinforced pilot's seat, quickly sitting down. He sure wanted to get off the Moon quick.

He started the rockets up; everything seemed to be in working order. It took around 15 minutes before the shuttle was fully ready. He flicked a switch; it was time to get going. Everything was ready, and now was the best time to leave. Soon, there was rumbling and shaking coming from the bottom of the shuttle followed by a deafening roar, and he slowly felt the force of ascension take him from the ground. He was moving up, and nothing could stop this rocket man now. He must have been hitting the atmosphere that shouldn't have existed, because the shaking was getting more intense.

However, he was soon in space fairly quickly. It seemed that the crater he was in was on a particularly high area of the Moon. Nonetheless, he was headed for Earth. And because of that, he didn't care how long it would take for him to…

"Where the fuck am I going to land? Shit, this is not good."

He considered landing in any nearby ocean, but depth he would need to simply not crash into the ground underwater would mean he would be too far out to get back to New York. An idea crossed his mind, something he noticed earlier. If stasis could slow him enough to stop nearly all movement, could he apply the same thing to the shuttle? It would take some serious work to get it working, let alone usable. But he had time; it would take at least 8 hours to get within Earth's orbit. He soon got to work, keeping the idea of crashing into tiny little bits as fuel to keep the "stasis cushion" a working idea.

It had been nearly 7 hours before the "stasis cushion" was complete, well, as complete as a hashed together machine could be. He added a special feature other than slowing it down; at a certain point, it will kill off any momentum. That point is reached when stasis takes a full hold of the shuttle, literally stopping it in mid-air. It seemed ideal, he wouldn't want any significant damage done to the shuttle, at least not until he was far away from it.

Exhausted after working so long without break, he decided it was time for what could be his last meal. He floated through the anti-gravity towards a pantry near an obsolete cooking area. He opened it and took a look at what MRE's they'd left for him to eat. Apparently, Aden was the one in charge of stocking the pantry.

"Oh, you fucking asshole."

It seems Rick's co-worker Aden, another engineer, stocked the pantry with only _vegetarian_ meals. Most of Rick's co-workers knew that he was keen on having some sort of beef, chicken, turkey, lamb or other meat with each meal. It was something he developed during his time laying low in Azerbaijan as a young adult, where he was forced to live at a farm while trying to escape authorities. It wasn't a habit to die on him anytime soon and yet his friend purposely attacked it with his "healthy" food. What kind of cruel joke was that? As soon as he landed, the first thing on the list of what to do was find a steakhouse. For now, he'd have to settle for this stuff.

It was night on the side of Earth he was planning on landing on. But now that he had a better look at the planet, he noticed that the continents seemed to be shaped differently. Maybe he had been gone for a few million years and the plates shifted. He chuckled at that, it was probably just some kind of discrepancy with the atmosphere or something. The chances of hitting a few million years of sleep in stasis were next to nothing. Well, he would be entering the atmosphere any moment now, and soon, turbulence and pressure would take over and shake the shuttle so badly it was like he'd been in the middle of an earthquake.

He sighed, and raised his voice dramatically, while throwing his arms into the air, "The moment of truth is ahead of us, Brothers! Hah!" It seemed like the chance of dying in a blazing inferno hadn't stifled his humor.

Twilight Sparkle had been personally asked to watch the night sky for Princess Luna. They would both observe, but take on different spots and areas of space. It was a simple measure that would warn them of any possible return of Nightmare Moon, but Twilight still didn't understand why it was so necessary, due to having defeated Nightmare Moon a year ago. She had been permanently stuck on the Moon ever since, not able to leave her domain.

Still, if Princess Luna asked for it, she would abide. She moved from her study on the second floor of her library to a balcony with a telescope on it. She decided to take a look to see if much has changed in the hour she's left it. Peering into the lens, she observed an odd anomaly among the sky. It appeared to be a comet, fiery and hurtling towards Equestria at break-neck speeds. She couldn't tell much about it, other than its odd shape.

She decided writing a message to Princess Luna was imperative, as she had the right to know before anyone else.

She began, "Dear Princess Luna,

I've seen something odd in the sky, and from what I can tell, it seems like a comet of sorts. It seems to be heading away from nearby cities and towns. I hope no animals get hurt from it hitting down to the ground, I'd hate having to see Fluttershy so sad and anxious over them. If there is anything else you'd like me to do, please, do ask.

Yours Truly,

Twilight Sparkle"

She rolled up the scroll and sealed it. She was going to wake Spike, her assistant, up and get him to send the letter immediately. But as she walked over to him sleeping, she felt a pain of guilt at waking up something so young. He _was_ still developing, and Princess Luna would understand her if she said she didn't have the heart to wake him. Whatever this was, it could wait until morning, where she would be able to send it at a much more convenient time.

She had been lost in thought for around 15 minutes before she noticed that she was still standing over her assistant. She moved over to the telescope again, taking another look. She gasped, the object was closing in quicker than she realized. Something was different however; as it reached lower and lower to the ground, it glowed a light blue, slowly turning darker every second. Flames were still somehow coming out of the bottom of it, and it still became darker. This is not what she expected; she would have to make plans immediately on the next course of action. Suddenly, she heard what sounded like a burp and a green light come from inside. Walking back in, she moved towards Spike to find two things: that he was still asleep, and a letter with an emblem of the moon on it lay next to him. She quickly opened the letter, already knowing who it was from.

"Dear Twilight Sparkle,

I'm sorry to send this so late, but I do hope you are awake. It appears something is in the skies, and moving quite fast at that. It slowly becoming darker and darker, to the point I can't make it out anymore. From what I can tell, it'll crash into the Everfree forest, not too far from the old castle my sister and I used to share. It is imperative we arrive on the scene as soon as possible, and before anyone else. I'll need your assistance on this, and we must meet up soon, there is only so much time before it crashes. I'll explain all of this later, when we meet in person.

Yours Truly,

Princess Luna

P.S. Stand away from the letter please, I'm going to arrive soon."

"What does she mean by 'arrive soon'?"

But Twilight soon figured out, Princess Luna would be using it as a spot to teleport. She threw the letter to the floor and backed away several feet. Knowing what to expect, she covered her ears. In a flash of light, a loud pop, and some smoke, there stood Princess Luna with a look of worry on her face. Twilight turned to Spike, who merely snorted and turned away from the light show she just experienced.

"Twilight Sparkle, it's nice to see you, only I wish it were under better circumstances."

"Hello Princess Luna, and what do you mean 'better circumstances'?"

"We have a situation on our hooves right now. As you can see, an object is going to crash into Everfree Forest any moment now. We must get there as soon as possible. I believe it to have something to do with Nightmare Moon, and we cannot let anything happen. Please, come with me and assist me in finding the object."

"Of course, Princess. When do we leave?"

"Now is the best time, as I said, time is of the essence!"

"Uhh, Princess… The Everfree Forest is dangerous enough in the day, will it really be a good idea to travel into it at night?"

"Not to worry, Twilight Sparkle, just about every nocturnal creature won't attack me. It has something to do with the night and how important it is to them. I'm not entirely sure of how it works, I just have an idea. Oh, and please, just call me Luna."

"Ok, Luna, and just call me Twilight, calling me by my full name just seems so _formal_."

"As you wish, now let's depart to the Everfree Forest."

* * *

><p>They had been walking for at least 20 minutes into the Forest before suddenly, a horrible crash was heard. The ground shook immensely, and they soon lost their footing, falling to the floor. A large shockwave passed, pushing all the trees back. They got up, and followed where the center of the shockwave hit. To their surprise, the object landed <em>inside<em> the castle, as evidenced by the large amounts of smoke exiting from the roof.

They looked at each other, than ran in to the very same place Twilight and the other Elements of Harmony had defeated Nightmare Moon the first time. It was almost eerie how they ended up back here again. But as they entered, both Luna and Twilight gasped at what they saw. It was something that didn't seem to make sense. They couldn't tell if it was live, or some inanimate object. It was large, white, and seemed to be on its side, as what looked like its legs weren't on the ground. There was smoke billowing from the backend of it, where odd, metallic cones were attached. It was, in all meanings of the word, _different._

"Luna, what _is _that?" Twilight said in the most bewildered tone possible.

"I'm not sure Twilight, but I've seen it before. I saw it as I was leaving the Moon not too long ago. I didn't think it would be able to follow me back here though!" She kept a face of shock and worry on as she spoke.

They stepped closer, slowly inching their way towards it, to see if it was alive. Suddenly, the side of the object busted open, revealing a hollow inside full of light. They winced at the sudden amount of light as something moved into it. It blocked out a great deal of the light at that point, and they could make out a silhouette of some creature. Luna gasped, that was the _exact same one she saw on the Moon!_ She hadn't seen any of the features yet, but she knew it had to be. Twilight simply stood still, with the most fearful face she could unknowingly muster. She had been frozen in place.

The creature stared at them from its higher point. Then, it jumped out and down to the floor. Landing with a heavy thud, it cracked the floor below it. Twilight was knocked off her feet, but was at least able to get a better look at this fear-inducing creature. It was gray mostly, seemed quite metallic, stood on only two legs, had what she recognized as arms (she's seen some of Fluttershy's animal friends, some had something like these, albeit less advanced). It had some odd appendages at the end of each "arm", but what really amazed her was its head. It shined, and reflected everything around it. It was like looking into a curvy mirror, and it was beautiful.

The creature walked up to them slowly, and came within speaking range of them. Suddenly, Luna stood before Twilight, horn aglow in a powerful manner.

"Princess, what are you doi-"

"You don't know what this creature is capable of Twilight, it single-handedly killed a Nightmare and defeated Nightmare Moon. It was brutish and cruel in serving its 'justice'."

The creature seemed taken aback by what it heard, whether it was that fact that the animals in front of it spoke fluent English, or that it accused it of being a cruel brute. It then walked closer, and Luna's horn grew brighter, which didn't seem to faze it at all. It pointed an appendage at the Princess, and said a single thing.

"You."

* * *

><p>I liked this chapter, just wish that it was more eventful. But, unfortunately, I can't have Rick just appear in Equestria. Anyway, I plan going into the conflict between two completely different species, which I thought would be an interesting idea. Until the next chapter, keep it trilla.<p> 


	7. Chapter 7

**Stasis**

**Chapter 7: The Gift that Gave  
><strong>

**By: Stillmatic**

* * *

><p>"Why have you come here?" the Princess demanded.<p>

"You."

"There is nothing for you here in Equestria, leave at once!" Her confidence was faltering.

"Killed."

"I- I will not stand for this, you are not welcome here!" It was crumbling now.

"_Me."_

She stopped, and stuttered out a few words, "But if I ki-killed you… How are you sti-still here?" The fear was shown through her voice, betraying her. This thing had come back from the dead, to hunt her down. If it could come back once, maybe it would do it again, and again, until it finally killed her.

"Princess, what's happening?" Twilight voice was shaking, not sure what to make of the scene in front of her. "Who is this- this _thing?_"

The bi-pedal twitched at that. Thing. They called him thing. _That_ was something he didn't appreciate in the least. He had a name, one he knew they would remember for times to come. He could feel it; fate was with him, dancing around this room, deciding what was going to happen.

"You have a lot of nerve," Rick gave extra feeling to 'a lot', despite his voice staying monotone. "I saved you from death, and you kill me? Is that how things work on this fuckin' planet?" Rick had come to terms with the fact this was definitely not Earth, it couldn't be. It may look similar, but the continents were different, there were no cities with huge skyscrapers, and there certainly weren't any other humans. It wasn't a pleasant sight when he discovered this.

"I- I didn't know what else to do! You killed a living thing and then nearly killed Nightmare Moon! For all I knew, you would have come after me next!"

He stopped and looked down, contemplating what he would have done if she didn't stab him. Something didn't seem to process, it was like it was being blocked out. He needed time; time to think about what happened in only a day. Time to consider what he had to do next. But first, he had to take care of something.

"I forgive you. Now leave."

Luna twitched at that, she wasn't expecting him to have a sudden change of heart. Maybe he wasn't a brutish creature after all, just misunderstood. She started stuttering, not sure if she should apologize for inflicting death on the creature. She could understand why it would be mad at her, but she wouldn't let it in on that. "Excuse me? This is _my _castle! You leave, back to where you came from!"

He approached her, getting closer as her horn grew brighter. He looked down, towering over the Princess and the other pony.

"It's mine now. Leave, or I'll force you out. And don't come back."

"Force us out? Do you know who we are? I am a living goddess, and this is the Element of Magic. You couldn't get us out if you're life depended on it! And it might just!"

"You leave me no choice then."

Twilight Sparkle couldn't understand what was happening, was there something she missed? She watched as the creature turned its back and walked towards the large object. He put his arm in and pulled out what appeared to be a large, red tool. She couldn't imagine what it was for, but it looked like it could devastate a pony in one hit. He held it at his side, letting it drag. She shuddered, if Luna was telling the truth about what this thing was able to do earlier to Nightmare Moon and her subordinate, then the Princess was about to get them into a lot of trouble.

"Princess, we can't fight him! We have to retreat and get help later! If it's as bad as you say it is, it'll do the same thing to us that it did to Nightmare Moon! We must leave!"

The Princess fidgeted, coming to terms with what Twilight had said. She'd been right; they couldn't possibly hope to win, even with magic on their side. This creature was crafty, and who knew what it had at its disposal. She could only imagine it ripping her down the middle, just like the Nightmare. She shuddered, and nodded to Twilight. She hated this feeling, the feeling of having to swallow your pride and abandon your ideals. It felt horrible.

"Fine, we will leave. But we will be back, and with reinforcements. This is your last chance to return from whence you came, creature! Heed our warning!"

"Right, the door is that way." He said, pointing to an arch in the wall. That caught Luna by surprise again, and she scoffed.

'How dare it do such rude things! To a Princess no less!'

The two ponies walked out of the room, going down the stairs to the exit. Their pride shattered, they exited the castle with their tails between their legs. As they got into the forest, Luna looked back to see that a blue shield was suddenly coming up the castle, consuming it. Nothing seemed to happen on the outside, but she felt like a powerful force had control of the castle now. She shuddered; she had fled and left it to an unknown creature with less than good intentions. She had to find her Sister and alert her to this. They would all go, Celestia, the Elements of Harmony, the Royal Guard, and herself. They would stop this corrupt creature from tainting their home, even if it meant killing it again.

* * *

><p>Rick let down his guard as the two small horses left his new safe house. <em>His <em>new safe house. He liked the sound of that. He moved to the shuttle and pulled out a large white box. It had multiple gears and other circuitry popping out from different spots. He was surprised it worked so well, despite him only spending seven hours making it. It truly was a marvel of modern technology; who knew stasis could be contained without the need of a chamber's shields? It certainly would become useful soon.

He laid the box in the middle of the room he was in, setting it down with great care. He flicked a switch, giving life to the box. It wasn't very loud, only making a small humming noise. Suddenly, a blue spherical field of stasis spread from the center of the box. When it hit him, he felt himself slow immensely for what felt like minutes. It had only been half a second.

As the stasis passed, he looked out a nearby window. It was perfect and practical at the same time. A shield to protect him, his shuttle, and his new home, was covering the castle. He set the stasis generator to only allow him through, albeit slowly as possible. He didn't like the fact he was now stuck on what was definitely an alien planet, but as long as he was stuck here, he would definitely make the best of it. Now, here was the most important thing on his list of objectives: Find meat, and food. His stomach started grumbling; those damn vegetarian MRE's were nowhere close to enough to satisfy his hunger.

"Aden, you bastard, this isn't funny!" He held his fist into the air in the angriest way possible. He sighed, this was getting him nowhere and now he was slowly starting to lose energy. He grabbed his wrench, the two tusks, and the horn. The horn was his biggest prize, and he knew it was something of a good luck charm for him. He just felt it; he couldn't explain how comforting it was to be near it. He dropped the wrench and the tusks, and made his way inside the shuttle. He went over to a workbench and pulled from a drawer a small drill. The bit was quite small in itself and wouldn't do any real damage to the horn.

He carefully used a clamp to hold it firmly in place. He began drilling a tiny hole into the wider end of the horn. Within seconds, he was done and inspecting it with his hands. He tapped the metal guard on his neck, and the visor lifted itself up. He reached into his suit and pulled out his dogtags. He held them to the light and they gleamed for a moment before he undid the chain. He stuck one end of the chain into the hole he created. He attached the horn to the dogtags, and held them in front of his face. He smiled, and put it around his neck. He felt different with it, like it was making him tougher, quicker, and luckier. The luck, that was the biggest thing he felt, and he knew it would come in handy.

"Now, time to find some food…"

* * *

><p>Rick had been going at it for what seemed like hours. The forest he was in, sounded like it was teeming with life, yet things would fall silent in his wake. And this would make it especially hard for him to find a nice little animal to smash apart with his wrench and cook. 'Oh, that's just sick of me.' He chuckled.<p>

But despite his humor, he was slowly starting to lose his vigor, and was panting from merely moving from place to place. He wasn't able to chase any animals he encountered with his suit, but he didn't dare go anywhere without it. Even if he could simply be reconstructed, he wouldn't want to feel the pain of dying, or the fog that stasis left you in. So, he was slower at the sake of being comfortable, what was wrong with that? His stomach groaned, making evident what _was_ in fact wrong with that. In turn, he groaned into the air.

"Damn't, I can't function without meat, and I can't get meat without killing something, and I can't kill something without being able to chase it."

He considered using his boosters or servos to assist him in chasing down a stag or rabbit, but those would only run him into trees or get him tangled in vines. It wasn't worth the trouble, and it would only cost him a few more precious seconds before he could resume the chase, if the creature hadn't gotten away by then that is.

"Okay, this is bullshit. Time to try something else."

He went back to his new castle and went into the shuttle. He went over to the duffle bag that was kept in a locker, unlocked it. Opening the door, he pulled out the bag and laid it on the bench. He rummaged through for something, and made a soft "Damn." when he pulled out the Panther. It still looked amazing as ever, and now, he'd give it some blood. He looked for a box of .45's he brought with him, just in case. He dumped the bullets into a compartment in the belt of his suits, and holstered the revolver between it and his waist, turning on the safety.

He looked over to an ornate vase across the room and stared it down, his eyes squinting. He spread his legs in a cowboy stance, and held his arms at the sides of his belt. His fingers twiddled and moved eagerly, ready to spring.

"You feeling lucky, bitch? You walked into the wrong saloon…"

Then, like lightning, his arms bolted upwards, Panther in hand. He fired instantly and a loud bang resonated against the walls. The bullet flew to its mark and landed with precision on the vase, rupturing it as the bullet penetrated past it and into the wall. All in all, the foe stood no longer, and the cowboy was left with a powerful new tool at his disposal.

"Magnificent."

* * *

><p>Rick made his way through the forest, making the least amount of noise. He was wearing the clothes he had on earlier, deciding that his ability to outrun whatever may lurk in the forest was more important that fighting it head on, which was a rare occurrence. Nonetheless, the felt something was looking for him, watching him at every turn. He needed his speed, and that armor wouldn't cut it. Maybe he would develop something for that later…<p>

He continued through the forest and found a clearing. He retrieved a MRE of various vegetables and laid them on a stump that was coincidentally in the middle of the clearing. He moved back, examining his work, and pushed a carrot lightly to the side. His vision of a trap accomplished, he ran over to the nearest tree and climbed. It wasn't very hard, but he had some trouble with some ants crawling on his hands. Reaching a branch midway up the tree, he pulled himself up to it and laid down. He reached to his belt and pulled out the Panther. He kept it steady as he waited in the tree.

Within a few minutes, a large stag walked into the clearing. This woke up Rick, who was starting to lose his wakefulness. He observed the stag intently, his mouth nearly watering from him not eating any animal in quite a while. It made its way to the stump, sniffing the vegetables. It seemed interested, until it suddenly fell over, blood running from a hole in its side. By some bad luck for it, and the reverse for Rick, the bullet, being fired from around 100 feet away, managed to directly hit the heart.

Rick slid down the side of the tree and ran to the dying stag. It limped its head toward him as he approached, making barely audible sounds of gurgling. He slowed, and holstered the Panther. He drew something from his belt; it was white, curved, and menacing. He held up the tusk and moved to the neck of the stag, lifting it up as its eyes stared into his. He felt no remorse, but didn't like that he was about to finish this creature in a most painful and unpleasant way.

He had no knife to slit its throat, but he had to make do. He gripped the tusk hard and dug it deep into the side of the stag's neck. Fear was prevalent in the stag's eyes, as Rick made a large gash as best as he could in the animal's neck. He repeated this until he had nearly torn off the front of the stag's neck. It had soon passed, leaving a large pool of blood nearby. Covered in blood, Rick wiped his brow and look at his prize. That head would look like in his castle.

Rick began to hoist the stag on his shoulder, which was quite heavy. He was struggling back to the castle when he heard what seemed like a woman's cry. His head popped up. 'Another human! Where is she?' He looked in all directions and heard yelling coming from behind nearby bushes and trees. He dropped the stag and ran as fast as he could to the source. Upon arrival, he was somewhat disappointed and shocked.

It seemed like quite an odd situation. There was a large creature attacking another one of those small horses that seem to populate the area. The creature was almost lion-like, used four legs and had a very demonic set of wings with it, accompanied by large scorpion tail that seemed to have a mind of its own. The venom it carried would most likely kill you, if the giant hole it would create in you didn't first.

Opposite of it was one of those horses, wobbling around in a daze. It was a bluish color, with a lighter mane. It was wearing a tattered cape of some kind, and what looked like a wizard's hat adorned its head. On its backend, was a fairy-princess-magician wand looking tattoo. Maybe this thing was a magician by profession? It seemed to not be in very good condition, possibly due to the large hole in its chest area. It was losing blood fast, and was teetering on its legs. He felt some kind of guilt as he saw it struggle.

He knew how that felt. _Struggling_ to survive, that was half his life right there. When he wasn't being shot at, he was most likely in a dangerous area filled with dozens of things waiting to kill him. It was a feeling he knew all too well, and it saddened him to see another creature in the same situation. But if he knew anything about these horses, it was that they don't take kindly to being saved, he had learned that the hard way.

Still, he felt a sort of comradery with it, and it was nagging him to intervene. He tried ignoring it, but looked again to the scene. The horse tried backing up, despite its injury, as the larger creature was beginning to close in for the kill. He felt even more guilt as he saw this; he knew he would regret it later if he hadn't done something. He decided then, he would fight off this monster, and then use his bio-medical foam to heal the horse. It would definitely take some work, but he felt that it was needed, no _required_ of him to assist.

He removed the bright wrench from his back, wishing he had kept his armor on. 'Damn, that would have made this so much easier.' He moved out from the bushes and into the area where the monster was moving in for a kill. The creature didn't instantly notice him, but when it felt that something had crushed its tail, it knew something was definitely here to fight. It turned to find Rick holding the large, bright red pipe wrench in his right hand. It roared loudly, enough to alert anyone in the forest.

Rick knew that this was _not_ going to be easy, and he may have crippled on of its modes of attack, but it still could rip him apart. The creature leaped at him, in full glory. Its pounce however, was cut short when it received a blow to the nose. It recoiled, taking full knowledge that this thing it was attacking was no mere piece of meat, but a _foe._ It liked the challenge, but still rubbed at its sensitive nose.

Rick was getting tired; he really needed some energy to be able to fight this thing off. He knew full well that every second that went by that he didn't kill it; he had a better chance of passing out to let it feast on his body. He would _not_ let that happen, so he knew that he had to finish this quick. But before he could contemplate a plan, the creature caught him off guard with another pounce. It successfully landed on Rick, planting itself on him, crushing him. He needed to think quickly.

'Shit, shit shit! What do I do? What _can _I do?' He looked around and saw that his left arm was still free. He moved it to his belt, searching. He grabbed at a bloody tusk and began ramming it into the legs and paws of the creature. It howled horribly, obviously underestimating the foe it chose. It removed itself from Rick, and taking an excellent opportunity to assist himself, Rick jabbed the tusk as deep as possible into the front-right paw of the creature. It cried again, echoing all over the forest.

Getting back on his feet, Rick picked up his wrench again, ready to take another swing if needed.

"I'll show you what happens to people who fuck with me, you overly stuffed piece of fucking fluffed shit!"

He raised his wrench above him and ran towards the creature, who returned the gesture with a sprint of its own.

* * *

><p>Trixie had been watching the whole thing unfold in front of her, as she lay dying on the dirty ground of the forest. 'How did I end up like this?' But she knew the answer, despite her not wanting to admit it. It had been only half a year ago when that wretched pony in that hick town of Ponyville had humiliated her, The Great and Powerful Trixie, and forced her to flee with nothing. Her wagon and home had been destroyed by that Ursa those two damn foals led to town. She couldn't blame them entirely however, they only loved and respected her, and who was to blame them of that?<p>

Her life had been a downward spiral since, with news of the feats she boasted about had actually been nothing but false tales. It spread like wildfire all over the county and surrounding area, letting other towns know of her lies and blunders. This had effectively killed her career, which in turn killed her only way of making money that she knew, which in turn killed her only way of surviving. She was forced to put on meager shows at any place she could, and even that wasn't enough to keep her fed. Her life had been essentially in ruin for over half a year.

'But that's the past, this is now.' She questioned her motivation to come to the Everfree Forest. It was severely uncommon for anypony to want to come here, and yet, she did. She didn't know why, she just felt as though she _had_ to be here. Little did she know, her "intuition" was about to get her killed by a Manticore. She was barely able to stand at this point, and fell to the floor. Her vision was beginning to blur as the poison started to work. Then from the corner of her eye, she saw something move in the bushes. 'Oh no! Not more!'

But something quite odd came out, something _different._ It walked on two legs, and wore something close to clothing. It was quite odd, and had a strap across its waist, holding various items. It saw something can shaped and glowing green, then a large, bloody tusk, and some other odd metallic tool she didn't recognize. But then her eyes widened as she was able to make out something hooked on a chain to its neck. Accompanied by a few flat pieces of metal, was _unicorn horn!_ How did this creature acquire a horn and from whom? It seemed to hold it like it was a prize, and it made her shiver. This thing obviously didn't realize what a big deal horns were to unicorns.

But as she watched it, she noticed that it didn't seem to be coming to kill her, but possibly _save_ her. She was overjoyed at the thought, despite how she knew how impossible it was. But her faith in it was renewed when she saw it smash a large red object it held into the tail of the Manticore. It was caught off guard and roared loudly at the other creature. Then, her heart sunk as she saw the Manticore coiling its legs, preparing to attack. Not many creatures could stop a pounce by a Manticore, let alone live from one.

But once again, this other creature proved its prowess, as it swung the object with amazing force right as the Manticore was reaching halfway to it. It was a hit to the nose, and she knew from what she's heard that Manticores had extremely sensitive noses, which sent it to roar and rub at its nose with a paw.

She noticed that a lot of the vigor from her bi-pedal savior was gone, replaced with heavy breathing and sluggish movements. This worried her, and soon her worry skyrocketed as the Manticore used that to its advantage. Catching the creature off guard, it tackled it down, hold it in place. She closed her eyes, 'That's it! It's over…'

But to her surprise, instead of hearing the creature scream its life away, it was the _Manticore_ who was screaming. The creature seemed to be using the tusk it held as a make-shift knife, stabbing at the legs and paws of the Manticore, to the point it was forced to get up. It would suffer though, as the creature left a mark of revenge into its paw, one that was long, white, red, and sharp. It roared so loud, she felt her ears hurting, but it soon subsided.

She looked again to see the creature getting back to its hooves, taking another stand. This time, it picked its red metal object off the ground, and held it firmly. Then, to her surprise, it spoke.

"I'll show you what happens to people who fuck with me, you overly stuffed piece of fucking fluffed shit!"

She had never heard such rude language before! But it seemed quite appealing, and it managed to get the point across that this creature was definitely intelligent, yet angry. For some odd reason however, her surprise was short lived, as if she knew it could talk in the first place.

The creature lifted the object above its head, keeping it there. It then ran at the Manticore, and the Manticore followed suit, it also running at the creature. Her vision blurred as she just barely saw them connect hits on each other. The two-legged creature was cut across the chest deeply, while the Manticore had its head nearly split open from the force of the swing, allowing blood to flow free. Both yelled at the top of their lungs.

She felt the creature's pain; it was slowly dying along with her. She never had anypony do that for her, nopony would ever fight off a Manticore for her to survive. She started to tear. It seemed to really care about her, and for that, she was grateful. She felt that she needed to assist it in any way possible, right now. She knew what she had to do, despite that it might just kill her.

She converted her remaining magic into energy and shot it into the body of the creature. Both of the fighters looked at her, surprised that she was still able to do anything. She could tell the creature felt revitalized, as it soon caught the Manticore that was growling at her off guard. It speed seemed to increase immensely, as if it were defying time and physics. It jumped all around the Manticore, smashing it to pieces with the red object it held. The Manticore couldn't fight back; it was being hit too hard, too fast. It soon spewed blood from different broken areas of its skin and fur, and it looked like it was slowly dying.

The creature continued its barrage, moving from one spot to another before the Manticore could react. It was effectively crushing the Manticore into submission and death. The Manticore was curling up now, sensing death. It was giving off weak roars as it fell to its side. She looked at, and it seemed so pathetic now, while before it was so large and furious. Maybe the other creature was right, maybe this thing was a 'overly stuffed piece of fucking fluffed shit.'

She could see herself starting to slowly black out, from her wound, the poison and the energy drain. She knew she might not survive, but she was at least glad that she was able to help out whatever it was that helped her. She passed out with a smile on her face.

* * *

><p>Rick stood huffing, looking down at the once proud creature he had killed. It was <em>huge<em> at first, now it was only random bits and pieces from his constant smashing of it. He looked around, and grabbed his prize, the venomous tail. He tied it around his waist over his belt, which took some effort. He then looked to his right, and noticed that the small, blue horse was still there, lying on the ground in a small pool of blood.

He rushed over as fast as he could and inspected its wounds. It was hurt _badly_; and it seemed to have quite a large hold in its underbelly. He could see from the areas of skin on it, that it was also poisoned, where the skin puffed in odd colors. It was unconscious though, not dead. He had to do this quick though; it could be minutes before this thing could die in his hands. He grabbed the needle and bio-foam canteen from his belt and inserted the needle into it. As he pulled the stopper back, the glowing foam filled the empty space.

He put down the canteen and started to fill the hole inside the horse's underbelly, slowly. It took maybe a minute and another refill before he was able to fill in the hole and cover the wound on the outside. He looked at the foam as it hardened and changed color to match the horse. It seemed to working well enough, and if he could survive two stabs to the chest because of this foam, then this thing could definitely pull through.

He watched as it slowly regained consciousness, opened its eyes, and fell back into a deep slumber. He chuckled; at least it would live. He grabbed his items from around him, picking up the wrench, the canteen and needle, and removed the tusk from the creature's paw. He then felt something, and smacked his own face at what he realized. He had his _gun_ on him the whole time! He could have finished this so easily if he had just remembered to use it. He felt like smacking himself again, until he saw the small horse stir.

"Damn, well I can't just leave you here. I'm way too nice."

He went over to the small horse and hoisted it onto his shoulders. It wasn't very heavy at all, and was almost enjoyable to feel it puff its lungs on him. It was almost cute. As he left, he noticed the stag he downed earlier, and walked over to it. He hadn't felt hungry anymore, due to this horse's ability to give him its energy. He thought he'd pay it back for that, and give it some of his MRE's. He grabbed the back hooves of the stag as he dragged it with the small horse in tote to his castle. He looked back and saw the remains of that other creature from earlier. He would come back to pick up some of that meat.

* * *

><p>Sorry for the long wait, but I couldn't decide on the beginning on the chapter and how it would turn out. Originally, I planned on Luna and Twilight fighting Rick, which would put a damper on a future idea. Then I got the idea that he forgives them, but uses a stasis-based technology to wipe the past few hours from their memories. Once again, that wouldn't work, but created an interesting idea that I'll use later. It's referenced in him considering the prospect of a new suit. Anyway, I hope that this chapter is enjoyed, as I enjoyed writing it. Also, I didn't get a chance to thoroughly proofread this chapter, so try to ignore all the mistakes and stuff. As always, keep it trilla.<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

**Stasis**

**Chapter 8: Wild Territory**

**By: Stillmatic**

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><p>"<em>You mustn't go out there! You know it'll be the end of you, Father!"<em>

"_I know… But I can't let that stop me. We've come too far, and I will not stand for us being pushed like this anymore. If those _dogs_ want a fight, I'll give it to them."_

"_Father, why? Why do you have to leave me like mother did?"_

"_Don't ever say that… Not only are your mother and I each contributors to who you are, but we did our best to mold you, to give you a personality, a life. We gave you a gift from the heart, and we know it will always be with you. Never forget that."_

"_Father, I'm sorry for what I did! Can't things go back to the way they were?"_

"_No Trixie, I'm sorry, but they can't. Don't blame yourself for it, something tells me it was meant to happen. What's happening right now, I'm just as sure is the same thing. Things will be different for you, I know it, but you must stay strong."_

"_What do you mean Father? What's going to happen to me?"_

"_Please honey; don't forget that we'll always be with you! What happens to you is your choice now; _you've_ been given the chance to do what you want. But I know for a fact that you will face hardships, many of them. It will pay off one day, it is guaranteed to. What will happen to you, I don't know, it's what you do that will decide that. Your mother and I wish you would follow in our hoovesteps and study magic, because we know you can do great things with it in time. One day, you can, no you _will_ become great and powerful. Not much of this may make sense now, but in time, you'll learn to understand."_

"_But Father, I want you with me! I don't want to be alone!"_

"_Honey, you never will be alone."_

"_You're leaving right now though…"_

"_Trixie, I'm making one of the biggest commitments a father can make, saving his daughter. Please, don't leave here until you know that they aren't there anymore. You must stay safe. Not far from here is a city, in this city is a bank. In the bank, there will be a teller who will most definitely recognize you, and he will give you a key. This key will open a box in the vault of the bank. The box holds some things that will help you, such as supplies, money, and a few family heirlooms that are now passed onto you. I know I'm putting so much on you right now, but you must stay strong for me and your mother. Please do not follow me."_

"_Father…"_

"_Goodbye, Trixie. We will always love and watch over you. Please, stay safe. Now, I think it's time I taught those dogs a lesson, and remember, stay inside until you hear nothing."_

"_Goodbye, Father…"_

* * *

><p>Trixie shot up, in a sweat from her vivid nightmare. It wasn't a nightmare though, it was a memory. She started to tear up; it had been so long since she's thought about that day. She shook her head, now wasn't the time to start crying. She looked at her surroundings, taking in the fact that she was definitely not in either the Forest, or any town. She seemed to be in a stone castle of sorts.<p>

She tried remembering what had happened, focusing on her memories from earlier. She remembered walking through the Forest, in search of something. She didn't know what it was, but she felt as though it was there. She didn't need to worry about it wasting her time however, as she didn't have many things to do since that blasted foal Twilight Sparkle had ruined her career. Her mouth became a large scowl at the thought of that pony. She hated her, and she knew that that would never change.

She was in a large area, most likely the center of the castle. She was lying on what looked like the fur of a deer. She nearly retched at the sight, 'Who would kill something so peaceful and then use it as a rug?' She held herself and regained her composure. Getting over the sight, she noticed that she was near a fire pit, which was lit and radiated warmth. She felt nice, and suddenly realized what had happened in the Forest. She grabbed for her underside, looking for a large hole.

What she found however, surprised her. There was nothing out of the ordinary, and it seemed like it had never happened. She sighed, and wondered what had happened to the near-fatal wound. More memories came back, and she soon remembered the Manticore she had encountered. It was fairly quick in dealing its death-blow. But she stayed alive long enough to see that something had rescued her. Whatever, and wherever this creature was, she would thank it immensely for its kindness.

She remembered the creature attacking and distracting the Manticore, as it dealt heavy damage to it with some kind of object. It was quite amazing how it managed to defeat such a creature, but she realized that she had a part in its gruesome death. It was her that gave the creature the last of her magic to use as energy, allowing it to effectively destroy the Manticore. She shivered at how quick and brutal it had been. It definitely moved faster and swung harder than anything she had ever seen before. It was still kind enough to save her though.

She looked behind her and gasped. Behind her was a large, white thing. She couldn't accurately describe it, it seemed so alien to her. It seemed to have plenty of scratches on it, and it didn't move, which gave Trixie the idea that it wasn't alive. She stared at it, until she heard a sound of metal moving against other metal coming from it. Something was coming out of it.

She quickly lied back down, pretending to be asleep. She heard what sounded like a door opening, and footsteps. They moved close to her, and she smelled something in the air. It was food, cooked and smelling delicious. From what she could tell, it was a mix of different vegetables, and it smelled _divine_, especially since she hadn't eaten in quite a while. Her nose twitched, hoping that whatever brought the food didn't notice.

The food was placed right next to her, on the floor. The footsteps then started to depart from her, but right as she thought she had pulled it off, something spoke.

"You know that I know you're awake, right?"

She blushed, now knowing that her acting skills weren't as great as she originally thought. She opened her eyes and flipped herself over, to look directly at what was speaking. It was definitely the same creature she saw earlier, and it still held that sort of towering look to it. She didn't feel afraid however, more so grateful. It was smiling at her from around 10 feet away, and it seemed so friendly. She didn't know what to say, so she just started talking.

"Heh, it appears that I wasn't able to fool you, sorry. Anyway, I'd like to personally thank you for saving me from that Manticore out in the forest. I thought I was a goner for sure once it stabbed me."

"It was nothing, just trying to lend a helping hand." He gave one of his rare grins, one that didn't come off creepy, but like it was he knew an inside joke that she didn't. She didn't, however, know what a "hand" was. "Are you okay, you almost didn't make it?"

"Yes, I'm fine now. How exactly did you fix my wound and remove the poison though? I don't know any kind of magic that can do it with such precision."

"It wasn't magic, it was this." He held up a glowing metal canister, and then tossed it between his hands. "It recreated or substituted anything that was lost from your injury. As for the poison, the foam absorbed it from your system. This stuff is some powerful shit."

She flinched at the cursing. "Foam? Simple foam stopped that large hole in me and saved my life? That's amazing!"

"One of the many medical wonders of my time." He smiled again, this time with less largeness to it.

"Well, thank you very much for your kindness. I can't say how truly appreciative I am of what you did. Anyway, I believe I should introduce myself. I am, The GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE!" Small fireworks and other dazzling lights alit from behind her. She realized what she was doing, and to whom, and stopped. She chuckled nervously as she lowered herself, "Of course, you can just call me Trixie."

"Well, I'm impressed by the light show, and I'd like to thank you, for what you did back there. It could have killed you, getting rid of so much of your energy. We would have both seriously been fucked if you hadn't done it though."

She smirked, "It was nothing, just trying to lend a helping hand."

He laughed, and approached her closer. "Well, as you can see, you are in my new home. From what I can tell, it was a castle at one point. I brought you here after that fight with that monster from earlier. That asshole gave me a bad cut across; that shit _hurt_!"

"Yes, the Manticore is a monster to reckon with and I guess it _is_ an 'asshole'. And thank you for bringing me here, I wouldn't have survived long in the Forest by myself. So," she shuffled her hooves a bit at the floor, "what's your name?"

He sighed, and said "My name is Rick. Just Rick, nothing else." He obviously lied to her, but he didn't feel like revealing his last name. It may come back to bite him. "Now, I'd like to ask a few questions, if you're feeling well enough."

Trixie walked closer, slightly annoyed that he thought she might not have recovered fully by then. The annoyance quickly left as she said, "Well, of course I'm feeling well enough. Ask away."

"Right. First thing's first, what are you?"

She blinked for a second, not sure what she just heard. She then burst out laughing, thinking that the creature in front of her couldn't possibly be serious.

"I'm being serious, if that's what your thinking about. What are you exactly? You don't seem to be a horse."

She stopped laughing, now actually curious as to how this creature didn't know what she was.

"Well, obviously I'm a pony. A unicorn to be exact."

He then blinked for a second, raised an eyebrow, then started chuckling.

"A pony? Seriously? Hah, oh god what the hell. Did I fall into a fairy wonderland or some shit? Hahah, _unicorn._" He still chuckled at what she said.

She was obviously displeased at being laughed at for explaining what she was, but then in retaliation, she asked, "Well, what are you then?"

He stopped, and looked at her.

"Seriously?"

"Yes, I've never seen anything like you before."

He didn't really think of any way to explain this. Really, how could a man explain to a talking "pony" that he was something called a "human" and he was from another planet entirely? It really didn't seem to look like it was going to work.

"I'm a human."

"A what?"

"A human."

"I'm not understanding. What is a 'human'?"

"We're from a place," he decided place was better than planet, "called Earth. We have these things called 'countries' and essentially, we live in them. We don't decide which one we're born into, but it's never too late to move or," his eyes grew dark at this word as he spat it, "defect. Anyway, it can be a tough life, depending on where and into what family you're born into. You're looking at a human who just so happened to be part of a family that signed him off as an 'expendable soldier'." He chuckled; he knew no other life than that one.

"Now, a human is what I am. As you can see, I use two legs and two feet to walk or run to places. I walk upright, unlike the other creatures I've seen here. And these," he held up his hands, to which Trixie marveled at, "are my hands. With these fingers, these little things here, they allow us to do a lot of stuff other animals can''s one the biggest tools of survival we have, and we use it in almost every possible way."

She stared at these "hands" and looked at each finger. They were so different from hooves, and they even had some markings on the bottom of each one. It was something truly amazing, and she wondered at how this human was just as intelligent as her, but so physically different.

"So, humans are creatures that live on 'Earth'? And countries, we have those too. So what else can you tell me?"

"What do you want to know?"

"Your life story, I want to make a retelling of it in magic." Her horn glowed and magic flowed into the air, creating what was an animated scene of the fight between him and the Manticore. It didn't exaggerate what happened, and still amazed him. "Like it?"

"Yeah, we have something like that back on Earth. But you did that with magic? I thought magic was fake."

"Fake? It's one of the most important parts of life here. Anyway, what do you think about my offer?" She smiled, trying to get him to agree.

"Sorry, but I doubt that's a good idea. My life isn't something that needs to be known, let alone told like a child's story."

Her smile faded, but perked back up again.

"Its fine, I guess. But if you change your mind," she winked, "you know who to come to."

He chuckled, "Yeah, I'll consider it. Anyway, your foods getting cold, you should start eating. I got to take care of something back in that forest, it shouldn't take me long."

She looked out a nearby window and saw it was night. She turned quickly to him.

"Are you CRAZY? It's night out! You'll be killed for sure! You don't know what lurks in the Everfree Forest at night!"

He smirked, to her displeasure. He started walking back to the large, white thing and went inside. He came out a minute later, making plenty of noise. Except, it didn't look like him in the least, at least to Trixie it didn't. Her eye twitched right before she screamed and yelled.

"WHAT ARE YOU? GET BACK!"

"Calm down, no need to panic your ass off." Rick pulled off his visor, and showed his face. Trixie, still hyperventilating from what she saw, started to calm down. After a minute, she walked closer and inspected what he was wearing. She tapped it a few times with her hooves, hitting it harder after each time. Rick laughed under his breath, that is until she reached high enough with a hard enough hit to make him recoil. She looked in confusion as he did this, wondering if she had done something wrong.

"I got to remember to add something thicker there. You hit pretty hard for something so small."

She huffed and stuck out her tongue.

"Well, you shouldn't underestimate us ponies, we _are_ pretty strong."

"Yeah, I had an encounter with a few of you. I think one had a horn like you and was purple. She seemed like," he paused to choose his words, "well, a bitch. Well, maybe not a bitch, but she _did_ bitch out of a fight against me when she was with that other one."

Trixie's eye twitched again, she knew who he was talking about.

"Did that same unicorn have a few stars on her flank? And purple hair with a magenta streak?"

"Yeah, how did you know who I was talking about?"

"I _HATE _her! She ruined my life!"

It took Trixie a few minutes before she regained her cool, and her eye stopped twitching. Rick managed to calm her down, but she was focused on something else now.

"You said something about another pony that was with the one that didn't want to fight you. What was her name?"

Rick thought for a moment, trying to pull the name from his memories. It came to him suddenly.

"Princess Luna, I think that's what the other one you hate so much called her."

"What? I don't think I heard you right."

"I said I think her name was Princess Luna."

"You… tried… fighting… PRINCESS LUNA? ARE YOU CRAZY?"

"What? She didn't look that tough."

"She's a princess! Why would you want to fight her? Everypony would turn on you so fast you'd be hunted down in 10 minutes flat! If you even hurt her," she shivered, "the things they would do to you. And don't even try thinking about what Princess Celestia would do…"

"Meh, they'll come to get me soon. Not that they could get me."

"What? What do you mean they're coming to get you soon?"

"That 'Princess', threatened to bring her sister, the Royal Guard and anyone else that wanted to beat the shit out of me. I think I could take them."

She would have thought he was joking he didn't keep the most serious face possible.

"You can't be serious! You can't take all of them!"

"I already got rid of one of those winged unicorns, and her Nightmare. They seemed easy enough."

She considered that; there were only two alicorns, and from what he could tell from his story, he had seriously hurt one. Then she considered the Nightmare, and she knew only of one pony that could conjure one of those. Realization dawned on her as her jaw fell.

"You… d-defeated… Nnn-iightmare Moon?"

He scratched his chin, "Yeah I think that was her name."

"And her Nightmare?"

He nodded.

"I, I just don't believe that, I'm sorry."

"I have proof."

She raised an eyebrow, still in shock at how he said he defeated Nightmare Moon. He reached under the odd armor he wore and pulled out something. It was like a necklace, except it had metal beads instead of links. There were two small metal plates with funny looking writing on them. She looked between them and her jaw dropped again. Adorned on the chain was, in fact, Nightmare Moon's horn. It glistened in the night, sparkling like a thousand tiny stars.

She stared at it, not moving for a few minutes. He waited, standing as she finally snapped out of her staring.

"Who- Why- _HOW, _did you get that?"

"I hit her hard enough and it broke off." He held it in his hands. "See, I wasn't lying."

"Amazing, simply amazing. First you killed the Manticore, and then you tell me you scared off the Princess and _her_, and then you tell me that you killed a Nightmare and hurt Nightmare Moon so bad you were able to take her horn! I just can't understand how you have managed to stay alive this long! Maybe with that horn as proof, we can get Princess Celestia to forgive you!"

"I doubt that, her sister doesn't like the fact that I not only saved her from this 'Nightmare Moon', but I also took over her old castle."

"You saved Princess Luna? How come she doesn't thank you enormously?"

"Some bullshit about her being scared from me after what I did to that Nightmare Moon. She actually stabbed me in the heart from behind when I wasn't looking. It was a pretty interesting experience. Anyway, she left me to die, and then I managed to get here and use it as my new home. She came here and demanded I leave, I said no, she flipped out, and then I scared her off."

"Wow, I can see why she'd be mad, you practically committed treason. You took over her castle, and then insulted her in it. I'd be pretty mad if I were her too."

"Well, I'm ready if they ever decide to come. Not that they can get past the stasis anyway."

"Stasis? What's stasis?"

"Look outside."

She turned her head in curiosity and moved over to the nearest window. She couldn't really see anything at first, but she noticed a bird flying by. It was nearing the castle and instantly slowed down immensely and slowly started to burn. It didn't even have time to squawk before it was nothing but ashes slowly falling.

"Impressive, isn't it?"

She flipped to Rick, who was admiring his work. She gave a weak smile, not sure how to react to seeing something die slowly, _literally._

"Sorry, you're obviously not used to seeing stuff like that. You might want to get away from the window for now. Well, I'm off for now. You want me to heat your food back up?"

She nodded and he picked it from the floor, taking it back into the white structure. A minute later, she heard a dinging sound, and he came out with the food, perfectly hot again. She looked amazed at that, how could something heat the food up that quick again? He set it down where it was before and headed to the exit. She followed him, wanting to see something.

He walked down the steps and out the castle, towards where she figured the shield was. He walked into, lighting it up in a magnificent blue. He didn't seem to slow at all. Maybe it was some kind of feature of that armor he wore. He walked as the shield faded, and went straight into the forest. She hoped he would be alright; she wouldn't want to be left here all alone.

* * *

><p>Rick made his way back to the spot he killed the Manticore. He thought of the pony he had saved, and the interesting conversation he had. He hadn't had a real conversation since this whole ordeal started, and it was nice to be able to talk to something that didn't call him "Thing" or "It". She may have been a bit weird, and he was somewhat annoyed at her skepticism at his so-called "feats", but she seemed alright for the most part. 'Just hope she doesn't backstab me.'<p>

As soon as he arrived, he was greeted by a pungent corpse and practically no flesh. All there was that was left was some skeleton and other pieces of meat, muscle, fat and flesh hanging from different places.

"Damn, things in this place work quick."

He moved over to the skeleton and grabbed what he recognized as the skull. It seemed odd, and yet so worthy as another prize. He knew he already took a prize from this creature, but it was too good to pass up. He lifted it and noticed something else on the corpse. It appears the paws were left without any harm to them, except for the one he stabbed. He dropped the skull and moved towards the legs of the beast.

Two more prizes wouldn't hurt much? He found the two front paws and broke off where they were held to the ankle. He put them on his belt, he would find some way to preserve these, and maybe they could be made into a weapon? He lifted the skull back up and walked back to the castle, disappointed that he didn't get any of the Manticore's meat (he figured that it might just have tasted decent), but happy that he got three more trophies.

As he was heading back to the bush he came from to that clearing, he heard a voice warn him.

"Unless its regret you want, return each body part to its rightful spot."

He flipped to his right, and saw what looked like a small zebra. It seemed as sentient as the ponies he had encountered, and it definitely was of some kind of African origin, as evidenced by the different tell-tale body rings. Some were one her neck, some were on her leg, but she also had some very large earrings on to match. He felt that something was definitely up, but he pushed that into the back of his head.

"Yeah, ok."

He kept walking, and gave no other attention to the zebra. He heard it move over to him, catching up and placing itself in front of him. She had a stern face on, but he really couldn't take that seriously, especially from a talking zebra. He chuckled a bit, and her brow furrowed.

"Return what you have taken, or it is your dignity that you will have forsaken."

"Make me." He laughed loudly, "Like you _could! _Hah!"

Then, in an oddly quick flurry, she tossed from a bag a blue powder. Rick tried backing away, but wasn't quick enough. The powder seemed to have a mind of its own, as it flew into his nostrils with precision. It somehow managed to get absorbed in what was his blood system, and it started circulating. Some powder however, went directly to his brain. He coughed several times, and moved back to see that the zebra was holding onto a smug smile.

"The Poison Joke in your body will stay, until you decide to repent your ways."

Coughing as he spoke, "You dumb bitch! What the fuck's your problem."

The smell soon hit him after that. He recognized it, but it was somewhere he couldn't reach, somewhere in the back of his head. He thought it over quickly, then as he was about to give up, it struck him hard like lightning. He _knew _what this powder was. From its smell, it couldn't be anything else. This was not good.

"Oh god… What have you done? Do you know what you just made me inhale?"

She smiled, "The powder is Poison Joke, harmless to all ponyfolk."

"I. Am. Not. A. PONY! Do you know what this shit _REALLY _is? Because it sure as hell isn't called some stupid shit like 'Poison Joke'."

"But-"

"This," he pointed at the powder near his face, "this is powdered Jacutan Shaman Flower. It comes from the same goddamn plant that let one man kill hundreds! Do you even know what you just did?"

"I was just tryin-"

"NO! You've fucking gave me the serum!" His coughing was getting worse, and he was starting to lose his balance. He clutched at his stomach, and it started to burn horribly. His eyes were dilating, giving him a nasty look to him. His anger was growing, and he couldn't calm himself in anyway. "You," he coughed a few times, "should get out of here, NOW!"

"What is happening to you, Poison Joke has never hurt any that I knew."

"LEAVE! UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE TORN TO TINY LITTLE PIECES!"

She started to back away, and turned into a full out gallop from the scene. She regretted what she did; she hadn't intended to cause it such immense pain. The Poison Joke was only meant to harm his confidence, not his entire body.

"AGH! FUCK! WHY DID THIS HAVE TO HAPPEN!" He couldn't help scream his words at the top of his lungs; his body was making devastating changes to its regular structure. He felt like tearing every limb off of himself, just to relieve the pain. It was taking control, slowly pulling his humanity away. His mind started to cloud, it was closing in on itself, shutting everything out. Bit by bit, the human in him reversed, and slowly became more primal. He was becoming a predator.

Everything became dark. Everything became a target. And the worst of it was, nothing could stop him now.

* * *

><p>"I, I just can't believe it! How could it be like that? Why would it try to fight us and then take over my castle?"<p>

"Princess, maybe it was scared, or afraid that we would kill it. I could understand how territorial it would feel if that was the situation."

"Scared? It defeated a Nightmare in the most gruesome way possible! How could it have been scared of us? I honestly doubt that Twilight Sparkle, I honestly do. We must come up with a course of action immediately."

"We can't be so hasty Princess; maybe it'll be docile now that it's alone."

"We mustn't take any chances at all! Sister and some of the Royal Guards should arrive within a few hours, until then, we discuss what we shall do to capture this creature."

"Yes, Princess. But don't you think we will have to-"

A loud crash sounded from outside the library, screams of a mare could be heard from all over the town. Both the Princess and Twilight Sparkle looked immediately to a window, trying to see what had happened. A loud roar was sounded, and it sent shivers down their spine. They recoiled at the sound; it had seemed so familiar.

"Princess, what _was_ that?"

"I don't know Twilight Sparkle, but somepony out there needs our help. We must assist them immediately!"

They galloped to the door and Twilight swung it open with her magic before getting there. They ran outside to find carnage and broken stalls all over the town square. It was a mess, and something large must have caused it. Their eyes scoured the area, finding nothing as the night gave little light. Another scream was heard down a street, echoing all around. They immediately ran to the scream, following it to its source.

As they head down the street, another scream was let off, and this time, it was recognizable. Twilight gasped, it couldn't have been... They were hearing Pinkie Pie scream, and very loudly at that! It wasn't something pleasant to hear, because for once, there was terror in it. Twilight immediately ran ahead, rushing to find what had happened to her friend.

As they both reached a corner, they saw something run past in the shadows of a building. It seemed to have gone into an alleyway. They gave each other a look, and immediately ran in, ready to fight or find whatever was sneaking around. As they went in half-way however, they saw their eyes just barely catch something jump overhead and straight out the alley. They turned and followed, being led to the town square.

"What was that thing, Princess?"

"I don't know all the answers, Twilight, but we must follow it to find the source and get answers. Whatever is here is definitely hostile."

They stopped. What else could they do? They saw something so horribly enchanting yet it injected fear directly into their souls. This would definitely not be easy for them, not in the least. On top of the town hall stood, with the moon behind it, was the _creature._ It looked different this time, now it seemed enraged and maddened, and what looked like a skull adorned its head. In one of its hooves, Pinkie Pie laid limp, moving with its motions. It let its arms back, and roared so loud that anyone asleep within the area must have rudely awakened.

The creature, no, the _monster_, was now panting hard, and it gave no signs of stopping its rampage. Twilight gasped when she saw Pinkie Pie in its grasp; that was one of her best friends being held like a toy! Fear slowly subsided, and anger took its place; she was now fully determined to make this thing pay for what it had done. Luna was less anxious to fight due to the pony it its grasp, but she readied herself nonetheless.

Both Twilight and Luna started charging their horns for a spell, one that would stop the creature long enough for them to retrieve Pinkie Pie. But the monster wouldn't just _not_ take notice of their actions, as it quickly turned its head to them in a snap. From behind the skull, heavy breathe came out, and it was thick enough to linger in the air visibly for a few seconds. It let out another roar, stood there, not doing anything. Something was wrong.

"It isn't moving Princess! Why isn't it trying to move out of the way?"

"I don't know Twilight. Maybe it doesn't know what magic is!"

They both strained under the pressure of the spells, and as it finally readied, they both gave each other a look. As their eyes connected, they both knew to send it. They looked at the monster and let forth a large bolt of lightning. It wasn't enough to harm either Pinkie Pie or the beast, but it would subdue it for a bit, depending on how fast it could recuperate. It flew far to the top of the town hall, and it closed it on its target. Then, nothing.

It seems as though that the creature couldn't possibly exist. The spell flew right _through_ it, and into the sky. Luna and Twilight gasped, as they realized not only did the spell phase right through it (leaving a very interesting smoky swirl reforming where the spell went through) and that their main mode of attack and defense was essentially going to be useless.

If they didn't know better, they could have sworn that the thing started cackling at them, obviously amused by their efforts. They grimaced, and started to devise a plan. But before they could think up much, the creature held its arm over the edge of the town hall, ready to release Pinkie Pie onto the hard, stone ground below. That would surely injure her permanently, if not kill her. She was then promptly dropped head first from the side of the building.

Twilight's mind slowed considerably, and she focused a spell quickly and shot it to where Pinkie Pie was landing. A large magical cushion landed on the floor right under her as she fell. She landed without injury, but was still out cold, maybe worse. The creature cackled again, and suddenly threw itself into the air, incredibly high and with the moon behind it once again. It quickly fell to the stone ground, literally cracking it with a large dent and letting loose a shockwave that knocked down the two ponies and decimated the front of the town hall.

It got up from how it landed, letting loose even more breathe from the skull. It made its way towards the two as they recovered from the floor. It moved roughly a foot in front of them, and put itself in a stance. Still dazed, the two ponies could only watch on. It then let out a guttural roar with the ferocity of something so primal and full of rage and anger that it shook the whole town. It hurt the two ponies' ears considerably, and they immediately got up and ran past it, towards Pinkie Pie. They levitated her and ran into the town hall, ready to use it as a means of defense against the monster.

But it simply stood there, and it started slowly slumping. It looked like it was either slowly falling asleep, or slowly dying. It made no sound as it fell to its knees, arms the only thing between it and the ground. They left Pinkie Pie inside and went out towards the creature that was losing its energy. The area was growing brighter, and they looked up to see that the sun was rising in the distance. As it made its way higher, the creature was slumping more and more.

They knew that this might just be their only chance at defeating it, so they took it and galloped towards the creature, ready to buck it in its head. As they closed in, Twilight Sparkle and Princess Luna became in sync, each leg moving the same and both reaching the creature at the same time for what was surely able to stop it for now. They charged forward and used their momentum to flip themselves around and into a buck, launching their hooves at the skull with devastating force.

A roar, not as loud as before, was launched from the creature as the skull flew off. It hurt both their legs to hit something so hard, yet they knew they had done right. They gasped at what they saw however, as their suspicions were confirmed. It _was_ the talking creature from before! It seemed to be so weak now, and its face, now fully visible, was in horrible condition. One could make out the bones on it if they looked closely enough past the blue powder. The eyes on it were pure bloodshot, giving it a menacing stare.

It was heaving now, and started convulsing. They stared intently as it held itself up, and let its head hang down. It then seemed to regurgitate, letting out an odd blue substance. Twilight thought it looked oddly familiar, and it was quite odd that anything would be throwing up something like this. It finished letting loose the blue stuff, and it resumed panting. It lifted itself from the ground, and walked over to the skull, not able to fully balance itself. It wobbled and teetered as it moved to the skull, and then lifted it to place it firmly between its arm and chest.

The two ponies' jaws were dropped at the sight, this _thing_ was just picking up and leaving like nothing happened! As Luna ran to it, it dropped to one knee, only to pick itself back up slowly. She put herself in front of its path as Twilight watched at could possibly end horribly. They seemed to stare at each other and then something completely unforeseen happened. It literally threw up more of the blue substance all over Luna! It seemed to finally get rid of all of it, and she could just barely hear it say, "Some joke." as it moved around Luna and kept walking.

Luna's eyes were bulging out of their sockets and she didn't move an inch. She just stood there, covered in blue throw up as she let the creature get away. Twilight didn't know what to make of the situation, but suddenly she heard a familiar voice.

"Twilight! What's happening?"

Twilight looked around the area, and looked to the sky.

"Dash! I'm so glad you're here! Do you see that thing walking away? You have to stop it, now!"

"What? Well, okay, if you say so I guess."

The creature heard this however, and hurried its pace as it grabbed at its sides. Rainbow Dash, a sky blue Pegasus with a rainbow mane, flew fast at her target, ready to collide. She flew to the creature, pushing all thoughts of what it was or why Twilight wanted to stop it to the back of her head; she had to help no matter what. She closed in and tackled it full-force in its back from the side, tossing it and her into a roll. She recovered within half a second, but a loud bang was heard and she suddenly lost control to horrible pain in her back-right leg.

The creature was rolled over onto its back, one arm directed at Rainbow Dash, and holding an odd black piece of metal that smoked. Twilight assumed this is where the bang came from. Rainbow Dash hit the floor and slid, tossing and flipping like a fish. She lay there, silent, as blood flowed from a hole in one of her back legs. She opened her eyes and screamed in pain. She couldn't contemplate what had happened and the pain was too great for her to even think at all.

"Twilight! HELP ME!"

"I'm coming Dash!"

As the two were distracted, the creature pocketed the black metal and flipped to its front, getting up while picking up the skull. It walked over to the Everfree Forest, and made its way out of the scene. It didn't turn back once.

Within a minute however, Princess Celestia and roughly a dozen Royal Guards showed up a bit too late. Celestia surveyed the scene, and saw a destroyed town square, with a pink pony out cold by a destroyed part of the town hall, and two other ponies by each other, one bleeding. She recognized her student, Twilight Sparkle, as one of the two, the other being an Element of Harmony. She hurried over, ready to ask her student what had happened. She found Twilight crying over the limp body of the Element of Loyalty.

"Twilight Sparkle, what happened here that could cause such carnage?"

"Princess," Twilight's eyes were red with tears as she sniffled her words out, "please, help her..."

Princess Celestia moved over to the blue pony lying down out cold, and examined the wound. It appeared to be that something had managed to pierce the leg, lodging itself inside. It seemed to cause heavy damage, and the bleeding would definitely kill her in time. Still, she would be able to fix the damage done. She concentrated on casting a healing spell, one that would dislodge the object, and force healing to take place and finish within a second. Her horn glowed, and she released the spell, letting it hit the leg of the pony.

Within a moment, the damage had been repaired, and an odd looking piece of metal came out of the wound. She levitated it in front of her, considering what it was. It was small, and almost pill shaped, and was obviously made of a metal. It smelled of gunpowder, and she considered how something so small could do such devastating damage.

"Thank you, Princess…"

"Please, Twilight Sparkle, get her to a clinic so she can recover."

Twilight nodded, and lifted the other pony with levitation, while grabbing onto the other by the town hall. She moved down a street and into a building, taking care not to accidentally injure either of the mares. Celestia was looking around when she finally saw an odd blue statue. It was interesting; it had the shape of a pony and eyes bulged out from where the head was. She thought that they may have been false, but they suddenly turned to her, looking with desperation. Celestia recognized those eyes, and used her magic to clear the stone-like blue substance from the body of her little sister.

As soon as she was free, Princess Luna hugged her sister, happy that she had arrived to assist.

"Oh Sister, it was horrible! It came and ravaged the square! Then it attacked one of the Elements of Harmony! Then it dropped her from the town hall and leaped high into the air! Then it fell with great might and cause a shockwave, destroying buildings and knocking us to our feet! It came to us and roared so loud our eardrums nearly shattered! We ran away from it and hid, but then it suddenly stopped! We went over to it and it was getting weaker! So we took advantage of the situation and bucked the skull it wore over its head! It was the exact same creature I told you about in the letter, except this time it was even more brutal and deadly! Oh Sister, please, get rid of this monster!"

Celestia simply stared at her little sister after what she had said. She couldn't think of many creatures that were large or strong enough to devastate a place like this. Nonetheless, she took what her sister said as truth; she wouldn't lie to her in a situation like this. She knew that now that something must be done about this "creature" that had hurt her subjects and she would have either convince it to stop, or find some way to kill it to prevent any more damage.

* * *

><p>Rick had been walking for an hour at least. He was getting tired and really didn't want to get into another fight. He couldn't rightly remember that last one in that town, but he knew he had definitely caused some damage. He can't imagine what he had done, but it was evident that he needed to return to his castle as soon as possible, so he wouldn't get chased down and captured.<p>

It was morning now, and things calmed down quite a bit. He was almost near his castle when something his eye spied was lying on the ground near a tree. He walked over to it, looking around to make sure it wasn't a trap. He kneeled to it and inspected it, taking it into his hand. It looked like a small green rock, oddly shaped for one at that, being perfectly spherical. He moved it around in his hands, getting feel for the texture. It was a cross between a rough, slimy feel, and he was about to consider throwing it against a tree. Suddenly, something hit him, an idea. He felt different towards it, like it wasn't something that he could just _throw._ He decided he'd look into just what kind of rock this was. He held it in his hands as he walked away from the tree he found it by, and made his way back to his castle, where Trixie surely heard the screams and the roars.

She must have been pretty worried, not being able to leave the castle. He chuckled to himself as he came up to the castle's stasis shield. 'Maybe some of these ponies aren't so bad.' The shield was designed to kill all living things that weren't him, so he needn't worry about those "prizes" he picked up earlier. But for some reason, he put the rock into a small compartment in his suit. He did it without a thought, and when he caught himself he just went with it. As he went through the shield and up the stairs, he could have sworn he felt something move inside the compartment, and he could have sworn he'd even heard a faint cracking. Disregarding it, he walked up the steps and went to go greet Trixie to a new morning.

* * *

><p>This chapter was my longest so far, and I felt like it definitely dragged in places. I tried to incorporate the beginnings for ideas that I had in this chapter, but some of them came out a bit sloppy in my opinion. Nonetheless, I really liked this chapter. I was finally able to give Rick the ability I always wanted to give a human in a completely new situation, the ability to, for lack of a better phrase, "go primal." I felt like that was what was going to keep him alive if and when the reconstruction chambers ceased functioning.<p>

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, it took longer than it should have. As always, keep it trilla.


	9. Chapter 9

**Stasis**

**Chapter 9: Hadrian's Call**

**By: Stillmatic**

* * *

><p>"Rick! Where have you been?"<p>

"I'm not 100% sure, but I think I went to a town or something. I think I messed things up pretty bad over there."

"Ponyville? You went to Ponyville? And you messed it up"?

"Yeah, from what I can remember."

"What's wrong with your memory? Did you get hit on the head?"

"Some stupid zebra threw one of the most dangerous drugs I've ever had the pleasure of seeing right into my face. It hurt like hell, and after that I can't remember much."

"Zebra? I think I've seen someone like that not too long ago…"

"Oh, I think I've definitely got a death warrant on me now, I did something to that Princess."

"What? You didn't… kill her, did you?"

"What? No, at least not yet. I sort of, well how do I put this… I let the drug exit my system, onto her."

"I'm not sure what you're saying."

"I threw up on her."

"Wow… That is bad, real bad."

"Well, someone had to take her pride down a notch."

"But she's a _Princess;_ you can't just do those kinds of things to her! Well, it doesn't matter; they can't get in here anyway. So… what are those things you brought back?"

"This was the skull of that 'Manticore' that tried killing you."

"EWWWWW! What are you doing with _that?_"

"It's my prize."

"Prize? Like a trophy? Isn't that a bit cruel?"

"I think I deserve something from the monster that tried killing you and me. Besides, I think there's something special about it, I had it on the whole time I was in town. Something felt different, like I _became_ a Manticore. It was amazing, I had no control, yet I felt so invigorated! Oh and these, the paws, will become part of an idea I had been thinking of. I needed something lightweight, but damaging, and the claws on these babies will mess anything in my way up."

"They sure do look… menacing."

"Yeah, well anyway, do you happen to know what this thing is?"

"A rock?"

"That's what I thought, but I'm starting to have my doubts. Are you sure you haven't seen anything like this before?"

"No, I can't say I have. I've been around different parts of Equestria for years, but I mostly avoided this Forest, for good reason. It doesn't really look like a rock when I look at it now. It's kinda hard and fleshy, like an egg."

"Damn! That's what it is! An egg!"

"What's the big deal about an egg?"

"I don't even know! But I feel better knowing that I wasn't crazy when I heard cracking and felt it move. I think that means it's going to hatch soon."

"What if something nasty and disgusting and mean and horrible comes out and tries to kill us?"

"I have a feeling that won't be the case… For now, let's just keep it on this pedestal."

"What if it falls?"

"It sorta sticks to places, so I don't think that'll be a problem. Well, I guess I'll make some food, it's been a while. What do you want?"

"What you made last time was pretty good, got any more of that?"

"Yeah, still got loads of this stuff, which I usually never eat. Anyway, after that, I'm going to sleep, I _really_ need it."

"That's fine. Hey Rick."

"Yeah?"

"You got something blue on your face."

* * *

><p>"My faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, how are your friends recovering?"<p>

In the recent wake of events that were happening, Princess Celestia had decided to stay in Ponyville with her guards, in order to protect the residents. Anyone hurt from any of the shockwaves or the creature were healed by her personally; she thought it was the least she could do. Many thanked her for what she was doing, and many had given her gifts in thanks. She liked the attention of her subjects, and the sooner she could deal with this monster, the better for her and them.

"They're recovering fine now, Princess Celestia. But it'll take at least a few weeks before those bruises on Pinkie Pie go away."

She shuddered, why would something attack Pinkie Pie? All she ever did was try to make people happy and make friends with them. Now, she was left with a testament of what had happened the previous night, marking her for quite a while. She seemed to still be in a cheery mood, but there was a faint tinge of pain in her actions, like she was scarred.

Twilight shook her head; she would make the monster _pay_ for what it had done to her friends. Rainbow Dash seemed to have a bad encounter too, after something pierced her back leg, breaking a bone and muscle without any conviction. She still remembered her crying for her help, and the monster on the floor with that smoking metal object. It seemed like it used that as a last resort in order to escape. It worked better than intended.

"Give them my best for now, the Lieutenant and I are still devising a plan on turning this creature to our side."

"Our side? I don't think it'll _ever_ join us, it just seems too hostile."

"It seems confused and misunderstood, despite what horrible things it may have done. For all we know, it might be mentally unstable and is in desperate need of help. If will allow us to forgive it and settle down, we will do so."

"I understand Your Majesty. What exactly is the plan for getting this creature to talk to us?"

"We'll try to capture it with some nets and other devices like cages to assist us. It won't be the best way to start a relationship, but it will give us time to try to coerce it."

"Your Majesty, this creature is strong, _very strong._ It's defeated Nightmare Moon, and killed one of her Nightmares. Also, it seems to have Nightmare Moon's horn in its possession."

The Princess was taken aback by this. This creature certainly must have been strong to do all that! A unicorn's horn was made of extremely to

ugh materials, and they just don't fall off from a light touch.

"Interesting… did Luna tell you anything else about any equipment it uses?"

"Yes, it seems to primarily use a red, long object for bludgeoning anything that crosses it. But last night, I think it only used its hooves. However… it did use something on Rainbow Dash to a devastating effect."

"Yes, I remember hearing a loud bang before arriving. What was that thing it used to hurt your friend so?"

"I'm not sure, Your Majesty, it looked like something that fired projectiles. It seems powerful and dangerous in the right hooves. I'm afraid it might just use it again!"

"You said it had Nightmare Moon's horn, did something seem out of the ordinary when you engaged it?"

"Yes, in fact something very out of the ordinary. When Princess Luna and I tried using a lightning spell on it, the spell phased through it as if it were a made of smoke. Nightmare Moon's horn was very odd looking at that point, it glistened and shined amazingly."

"I was afraid of this… It seems our new guest has attained magic use through the horn. I'm not sure if it's doing it on purpose, but it is using very odd magic."

"_IT KNOWS MAGIC NOW?"_

Both Twilight Sparkle and Princess Celestia flipped around to see Princess Luna in a dumbstruck state. Her jaw was low, an eye twitched, and shock covered her face.

"We believe so, Sister."

"That explains so much on why we couldn't harm it with magic! But if that's the case, why were we able to buck the skull of its head?"

Princess Celestia raised a brow, "It had a skull on its head?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, what looked like a Manticore skull."

"My, my, this creature never ceases to amaze me. It truly is capable of survival in the Everfree Forest. Maybe that's why it stays there only, because the Forest reminds it of its original home."

"Yes, but now it has a new home. _Our castle._"

"It has our old castle? How did it manage that? I thought you two left to the castle to investigate and forced it out?"

Both Twilight and Luna looked at each other nervously, hooving at the ground.

"Well, Sister, you see… We met with the creature, and when we demanded it leave, it threatened us. We felt something odd about it, like it was being protected. We didn't want to take any chances fighting it, after seeing what it did on the Moon. We had no other choice but to retreat."

"You made the right choice; I don't think you would have been able to subdue it. Nonetheless, we must confront it and take back the castle."

"There is a slight problem, Sister. It seems that it has set up a shield to protect the castle. I've been using forest animals as spies to watch over it and, well, it seems that anything that comes in contact with the shield burns up and evaporates, with the exception of the creature itself."

Princess Celestia was shocked at this, what could possibly have the magic to contain a shield with that much power for so long? It didn't seem possible for most creatures, but here was this new one that had managed to do what many, many unicorns will never be able to do. She regained her composure, considering what her sister said.

"You said you have spies watching the castle and the creature… What else has this creature done?"

"It seems to have killed a stag, gouged and ripped its throat apart, skinned it, and then used the insides as meat while the skin became a rug of sorts. It managed to lure it out with some kind of gourmet cooking, which is extremely odd seeing as though there are no restaurants in the Everfree Forest."

Princess Celestia didn't bother hiding her disgust at that. What sentient being attacks other creatures and _consumes them?_ It was something reserved for only the oldest of species such as dragons or Manticores.

"There's more, Sister. As it was dragging back the body of the stag, a Manticore, presumably the same one the skull is from, attacked a unicorn in the nearby area. It heard the screams and made haste to the scene. With some kind of ability, it fought off the Manticore, and even as the Manticore couldn't fight anymore, it continued crushing it and breaking it apart in a most gruesome fashion. It seems that the unicorn had given some of its energy away to the creature, which was near-passed out, and allowed herself to be healed by the creature. It used the same medical device I saw it use on itself on the Moon, and repaired a large hole in the underside of the unicorn. It then stole the tail of the Manticore and carried back not only the body of the stag, but the unicorn herself. I haven't been able to see much other than that."

Standing shocked at the unbelievable story, Princess Celestia considered how any of it was even possible. This creature was _smart,_ and was also willing to help somepony in need. After all it had done, it just decides to help a random unicorn? Something did not add up, and all three knew it.

"Do you know who this unicorn was?"

"No, but I do remember what she looked like. She was blue, had a blue mane, and wore a magician's cape and hat. A very interesting character, if you ask me…"

Twilight's ears perked up, knowing who was being described. She considered it, and it didn't seem to make much sense at why Trixie would be in the Everfree Forest. It also seemed odd that not only did the creature help her, but _she helped the creature._ Then it heals her and takes her back?

"Princess Celestia, I think I do know who the unicorn was…"

* * *

><p>"Was it good? I liked it."<p>

"Well, I don't eat meat, like everypony, but the vegetables were amazing! How did you learn to cook like that?"

Rick knew that he hadn't _really_ cooked them, but if she wanted to believe that he did, he would let her. Besides, once you get used to them, MRE's were pretty decent.

"Oh you know, just plain skill and shit."

"Amazing… Rick, why is it that you curse so much and so often?"

He thought about that, why _did_ he curse so much?

"Well, where I grew up, that kind of stuff was spoken by everyone. It was part of a colloquial vocab you just learned on the streets. It just becomes part of your speech after a while. Why, does it bother you?"

"No, it just seems interesting."

"Interesting. I don't think I've ever met anyone that called it that."

"Well, it sorta has an empowering feeling to it. I can't explain it."

"No one's ever put it that way, but I ca-"

He stopped, and looked past Trixie. She turned and gazed at the pedestal. Where the egg had been, only two halves of an empty shell laid. They looked at each other and shrugged. Whatever it was that came out couldn't have been that bad. But as Rick started to look around, he felt something on his shoulder. He turned slowly to see a baby praying mantis on his shoulder, looking at him.

"What the hell?"

"Hello, Father." It actually spoke fluently, surprisingly.

"Father? Who, me?"

"Yes, you are my Father after all."

"How am I your father? I didn't lay an egg or anything."

"You saved me from near-death! I own my life from you. If you hadn't had come and picked me up, I surely would have been used as a tasty treat for some forest animal."

"So… You're a father now, Rick?" Trixie smirked at this, despite being weirded out by a talking mantis.

"I guess so Trixie. I have no idea what's going on, but I like it. Sorta. But really, what the fuck? I pick up an egg and suddenly I'm a pops?"

"Maybe they recognize the first person they see as their parent. I wonder… What am I to you?"

The mantis looked at her with its insect eyes and said with care, "Why, you're my Aunt Trixie."

She gave it an odd look and turned back to Rick.

"I think it's here to stay. Maybe it could become your companion or something? It is an insect, so it'll grow pretty fast with enough food."

"Yes, my species can grow to adulthood within a few days' time, and the necessary nutrients of course. Speaking of which, would you happen to have something I could consume?"

Rick scratched his chin, "What do you eat?"

"I am omnivorous, but I prefer to eat the flesh of other creatures."

Trixie gave a slightly horrified look, but Rick gave an evaluating look at it. He then completely changed his expression to one of happiness.

"I am _damn_ proud son! Like father, like son! Shit, who would have thought you already were picking up after me?"

"Thank you, Father."

"Hah, _Father_… I like that a bit. Well, I still have some stag meat. I'll go get some of that and some vegetables cooked up."

"Wait, Rick, I think you're forgetting something."

"What?"

"He," she gave a questioning look to the small mantis, to which it nodded, "doesn't have a name. Don't you think that's a bit unfitting?"

Rick say back down, thinking of something to call his "new son".

"How about, Elwood?"

"What kind of name is that?"

"Jake?"

"Not very unique."

"Hmm, I think I got the perfect name for him. An old friend that sacrificed himself for me always asked me to name a kid after him if I had any. How does 'Tyrone' sound?"

"It is unique, I suppose… Ask him yourself."

They both looked to the mantis, who nodded approvingly.

"I like that name very much, it has a certain _class_ to it. I could be just imagining that, of course."

"No, it makes sense, Tyrone was a classy was a bit odd, seeing as though on every mission he would wear either a suit or tuxedo. I'll never understand that, but the agency never did enforce the dress code on him."

"He seems like an interesting pony."

"Pony? He wasn't a pony. Where I'm from, we use the term 'person' or 'one', in conjunction the same way you use 'pony'."

"That's a bit weird, I never heard of that word before. Person..."

"Yeah, well," he yawned a bit loudly, "damn, it's been a long ass time since I've slept. Sorry guys, but I need to find a place to knock out. If you need me, I'll be in the shuttle. Just do what I said earlier Trixie, to open the stasis chamber."

"Ok, just go and get some rest. I'd like to explain to Tyrone how the world works now, and fill him in on what's happened."

"Good idea, peace out."

"Night, or morning really."

Rick walked up a ramp he installed to the shuttle and sighed. He went over to the stasis chamber, thinking it was probably the best place to rest. At least, better than the hard ground. He could have used the stag's fur, but Trixie would need it later. He popped in the code into the keypad and the tube opened up. He took off the suit, and walked in. He felt the chill of the chamber and the stasis slowly took him. Within a few moments, he could hear nothing, feel nothing, and see nothing.

* * *

><p>"Ahh, Rick. Quite amazing vhat you manage to pull off sometimes."<p>

Rick opened his eyes to find himself standing in blank, white room. White all around, four white walls, no doors or windows. He was on the floor and saw who had been talking to him. He pushed himself back while down.

"Tobias? I thought you were dead."

"Tsk, really, is that how you greet an old friend? And yes, I am dead. But I'm here."

"How?"

"No explanation is necessary. And this time, I am _not_ a figment of your imagination. Hohoho, you should have zeen your face when you fell! Stupendous!"

"Wait, this isn't a dream?"

"It iz. But zis time, we can discuss things. No longer must we talk through memories. It feels so refreshing!"

"So… you're a ghost?"

The German doctor nodded.

"And you're talking to me in my dreams?"

He nodded again.

"Oh my god… That serum must have seriously fucked me up…"

Tobias hit his palm to his head.

"Nein! That is only one reason I have come to you. It seems zat your recent 'performance' has attracted the attention of one of my friends."

"Who?"

"Hadrian."

Rick stopped and looked at Tobias with a serious look.

"Hadrian? He's dead."

"Ja, but I'm here, no? The same thing applies."

"So why isn't he showing himself?"

"He can't anymore, not after running into some 'problems'. Tsk, I wish he had survived."

"Yeah, I still have nightmares about that day… How did I manage to get away and Hadrian didn't? He had… those powers…"

"Ahh, so you do remember. That is why I have come to you, Rick. Hadrian sees somezing in you, and you would be wise to listen. He has something for you."

"What? What could a dead man possibly have for me?"

"You zink that life is over once it ends, don't you? You haven't learned much."

"I've seen enough of the dead to know that there aren't any ghosts."

"Zat, is where you are wrong. They are there, you just haven't listened. Those that died, they were weak, and so their spirits also are weak. But myself, and Hadrian, are strong. We can let others know of our existence. We don't usually, but we know that we should assist you in your 'situation'."

"Yeah, things have gone a little fubar. But it isn't all bad. I've been able to stay alive for a bit."

"Yes, but Hadrian and I would like to give you something to make this oh so easier for you."

"What?"

"His power."

Rick froze. He knew Hadrian was different, far more different than any other human. Rumor has it that he was able to use special powers. Most thought it was just cheap talk, but Rick experienced Hadrian's use of them first hand. They weren't your super hero's powers, but something more deadly in the right hands. Hadrian definitely was not the guy you wanted to mess with, unless you wanted to be flambéed or something.

"How is that possible?"

"You see, we've been watching you. We think that you're ready for his powers, with what you did last night as evidence."

"I can't even remember what I did last night."

"Yes, you do. You used that drug to enhance yourself, and that activated dormant parts of your brain. Most don't ever activate that part of their brain, but you, you've done it. It is amazing how fast you've been adapting. Truly remarkable."

All his memories came back to him, slowly watching it happen again. He didn't know how to feel about what he did. He did hurt many, and he did ruin the square of a small town, but he couldn't find himself at fault. It was that damn zebra's fault.

"I really changed there. I can't believe that was me."

"It was. And we were impressed. With your transformation, you managed to use something very few on Earth know how to really do. Magic."

"Magic is only real on this planet."

"Nein, it isn't. It has always been there. But with the assistance of that native's magical 'horn', you augmented yourself to subconsciously use magic. Quite amazing, really. Didn't you find it odd how you managed to not be affected by the magic of those two creatures? It went right through you, and you simply grinned. Do you know why you were able to avoid it?"

"No, I just thought that was the point of whatever it was they meant it to do."

"Zis is what happened. You took the skull of the creature, and then you were given the drug. It put you into a 'primal' state, activating otherwise unused and dormant parts of your brain. This activated the 'horn', which in turn used your current situation to your advantage. You were primal, and you have the skull of a dead predator on your head. In other words, you became the spirit of that dead creature for a bit of time. Remarkable, no?"

Rick was speechless. How could any of that even _remotely _make sense? The horn gave him magic powers? And the skull turned him into a ghost? What the hell was happening?

"What. The. Fuck."

"Give yourself time to digest it; it will make sense in time. Back to business, are you interested in Hadrian's gift?"

"What gift?"

"His powers, he wants to give you his powers."

"_Why?_ It doesn't make sense! Why would he give me them?"

"Obviously he doesn't need them anymore, he _is_ dead. This is a unique opportunity, Rick. You mustn't disregard it. Take his powers, and learn from them. Become stronger. I assure you, you _will_ need it. The future will be tough for you, and you need all the help you can get. I'll give you a few minutes to decide wheth-"

"Yes."

"Hmm?"

"Give me Hadrian's powers."

"Mmm, wonderful. But for now, we will only give you the one he started with. Understand, you can't receive all of them at once; it would harm your psyche. Instead, you will earn them through time and use. Your first, which you should be familiar with due to it being one of the few Hadrian showed you, is fire. Not just any fire, it is special in the way it is the fire that came from his soul. To his annoyance, I've named it. It is named 'Hadrian's Call.' It is very powerful, and can be used in many ways, from small fires, to launchable flames, to even a geyser of fire streaming from your hands. All of his powers can only be used because of the 'horn'. It is the only connection that is between us that will allow you to use it as a medium. In time, you will develop your own kind of magic. You are very lucky to be given this, Rick. Make good use of this. Until we meet again, goodbye and good luck."

Tobias flung a stream of pure energy at Rick, as he became covered in it. He felt it settling into him as he got up from the floor. He was paralyzed no longer, and he looked around him. Tobias faded into tiny scraps of paper and evaporated. One by one, the walls around him fell. The roof fell also, crashing down onto the floor and right through him. Everything seemed to go black as he saw he was in that same void again. It was horrible. Worse than last time.

He found no gun to kill himself this time. He only felt heat. He felt heat in his entire body. He felt sparks fly from his hands, and thoughts came rushing into his mind. He tried it out, and pushed a small flame out of the palm of his right hand. Through practice, he was eventually able to create bigger flames, and easily impressed himself. Eventually, he had a thought.

Stasis was cold. He was hot. Maybe, just maybe, he could heat his body up enough to get out of stasis. He charged himself up, and tried raising his body temperature. Nothing happened, and just as he was about to give up, he realized something. He didn't need to raise his temperature; he needed to heat up the area around him.

He concentrated and formed fire around himself. He was getting the hang of the power, and he knew that it was a tool he would most definitely need. The fire and its heat didn't seem to affect his body at all as he just absorbed it and stayed at the regular low temperature levels that stasis gave. Eventually, he created more fire, and surrounded himself in it. It became a blanket as it started to warm him, pushing the stasis away.

He kept working at it and he felt it soon leave him near entirely. But one little bit would not leave, keeping him asleep. He tried harder and let out a burst of energy and heat. Soon, he felt that list bit of stasis slip away. Suddenly there was light everywhere, everything seemed to fade out. He couldn't tell what has happening, but he went with it, allowing himself to regain consciousness. In one last push, he forced himself out of stasis.

* * *

><p>Rick awoke from stasis and looked out into the shuttle from inside the chamber. He blinked, taking in what just happened. The tube opened and he walked out. He felt no sluggishness or any other effect of stasis. This was different for him, and it felt <em>good.<em> He felt like he was invulnerable, and he knew that he was empowered now. Hadrian had given him a gift, the gift of _magic._

He left the shuttle and went to see Trixie was still talking to Tyrone. They were probably still discussing what had happened in the time he's been here. Moving closer, he sat down on the floor. Trixie looked at him oddly for a moment?

"Back already? Did you even sleep?"

"What? I've probably been asleep all morning."

"Uh, no, it's been 10 minutes."

He looked outside and sure enough the sun was still rising. He scratched his chin and looked himself over. He looked fine, and he felt as though he had a great sleep.

"I feel great though, like I've slept the whole day. Ahh, it's probably just the stasis, maybe it slowed time inside the chamber, letting me get a longer amount of sleep than that was actually happening outside of the chamber."

She gave him another weird look, "What."

"Never mind. Anyway… Trixie, you know magic right?"

"Yeah, but I specialize in show magic. Why do you ask?"

"Teach me magic."

She looked at him and laughed.

"Only unicorns can use _magic_! That should be obvious! Unless… can humans use magic?"

"Watch for a second."

Rick got up and stood in the middle of the large room. He breathed deeply, inhaling air as he prepared himself. Tyrone and Trixie watched intently as he held his right arm out. His veins started to subtly throb, and he could feel the fire rushing through them. It was an odd sensation, and it was definitely new, but something about it assured him. Then, a point of heat started forming near his palm. It looked like a miniature heat wave, condensed into a tiny ball.

He felt more of the magic he never had flow to the point, and soon, sparks flew from his hand, lighting the ball. It was small at first, but he condensed it more, letting it grow in power. Soon, it was smaller than a golf ball, yet blazed hotter than a forest fire. He threw it up with his right hand, far into the air. There was no roof to this part of the castle, and for the better, because when it got high enough, it exploded into larger balls of fire, which flew to all corners of the castle. It essentially was a firework show.

He turned to Trixie, and her jaw hung from her head. Tyrone kept the same face he had since he hatched, most likely due to him not having any _real_ facial features. He then made a screeching sound that wasn't very piercing, but held a tone of endearment.

"Wonderful! Simply wonderful, Father!"

Rick smirked then bowed appropriately at his new trick. Trick wasn't the right word though, because he knew there was more to using his new power than just simple parlor tricks and fireworks. He saw _possibility._ He had one more tool in his arsenal, and he would make full use of it. He could only imagine the amazing things he could do with this.

"Thank you, thank you, twas nothing, really. But, seriously, that shit is off the hook right? I mean, _damn!_ Did you see that shit?"

Trixie looked to him after wiping the dumbfounded look off her face, putting on a more serious one.

"Some unicorns spend half their lives learning to control a spell like that… And you just did it like that? I- I just can't understand how that's possible!"

"So you liked it? Well, a friend let me get his power, seeing as though he's dead and all. I doubt he would have needed it, but it's daaaaaaaammmnnnn _fine!_ And that was just me scratching the surface. Just imagine what other shit I'll be able to do when I get more creative. This is so… Boss. That's the word."

He had an excited face on as he talked; clearly showing it had been a long time since he's ever experience a life-changing event such as this. Still, life-changing events tend to happen more often to him than one would think. But he wouldn't let that ruin his parade. He knew it was something special, even in a world full of magic. When those ponies from earlier saw his new power… The looks on their face would keep Rick laughing for days. He snickered and let his arm down, giving it a swing as he walked back to the observers.

"Rick, there's so much potential in that! I can't even _begin_ to describe the possibilities! Now you can learn other kinds of magic! And," she gave smug look, "I'll be your teacher. Learn from the best, right?"

"Here's the thing, that's the only magic I know how to do. Apparently, I've been able to use magic since I got this horn, but I couldn't use it consciously or on purpose at all. Since I remember what happened last night I can use it as an example. Those two ponies from before, the Princess and the nerd, tried launching a lightning bolt at me when I was on top of some building. I felt like I shouldn't have moved, and I didn't."

Trixie gasped, "But then how are you here? If it hit you and you didn't move, you would have definitely been stunned long enough for them to capture you."

He rolled his eyes, "Give me more credit than _that._ Anyway, went it was supposed to hit me, it just went straight through me. I can't explain it, it just made it go through me like I was made of smoke or something, because it warped me when it passed, but everything came back."

She crossed her arms, "How is that even possible? You're no phantom."

"Heh, that's just it, I was! It was the skull I had on."

"Wait, you were _wearing a skull?_"

"It was from the Manticore. As I was saying, because of the skull and some damn powdered drug a zebra gave me, my mind locked down and went primal. In other words, I went savage all up on their asses. It was pretty cool."

"That doesn't explain the spell going through you…"

"Ok, let me explain this clearer. The zebra forced the drug into me," he looked to her and she nodded, "and then I put the skull on," she nodded again, "which worked with the horn to make me the spirit of the Manticore I killed. Simple, right?"

Her eyes widened, "You _became_ the Manticore?"

"I guess in a way. It was more like I became its ghost and it gave me its power and strength, for lack of better words. It even gave me its lack of sensibility, which I really didn't need, but that's not that bad of a drawback. It was amazing, it really was. I wonder how I can do it again…"

"Rick, you realize what you're saying right? You pretty much became a monster. _And_, you've definitely become a major threat now. Do you know what's happen to every major threat in Equestria? Every single one has slowly been exterminated by the Royal Guard. Every. Single. One. We haven't had a Dark Lord for hundreds of years and only minor monsters have been allowed to live, but only the Everfree Forest. But even the Everfree Forest can't protect you from the Princesses and their Royal Guard. They'll eventually find a way to break this barrier, and when it comes down, it'll all be over."

Rick let everything he just heard sink in, taking in every bit of information. So these people weren't as friendly as he thought outside of those two he met on the Moon. No problem, at least not for him. If _they_ had a problem, they'll have to come to him. Until then, he'll do what he needs and wants. That gave him an idea, something devious.

"Fine, let them come. I'll be prepared."

He turned and went into the shuttle, leaving the door open.

"Rick! Rick where are you going? And what do you mean you'll be 'prepared'?"

He looked out and said, "I'll just have to improvise some things. Like a new suit, some weapons, maybe even something for you guys. Hmm, speaking of which, I'll get right on changing the shield to allow you two through without getting turned into ash, should be fun. Anyway, don't expect to see me for a bit, there's some goddamn work to do."

With that, Rick left them only to be followed with a weird look. Trixie turned to Tyrone and he still kept that poker-face of his.

"I think Father can do it. From what I've heard, he doesn't take threats and likes lightly. And looks determined, and even I know what that means. He knows what he's doing, just give him some time. Well Aunt Trixie, I'm off to partake in more of that stag, it was simply delicious!"

"Sure Tyrone, take your time. But try not to make a mess like last time. That was the most disgusting thing I've ever seen."

He nodded as best as a mantis could and walked out. In only a short time, he grew just a few inches. At this rate, he might just be fully developed within maybe a week, due to a mantis's growth being accelerated the more it develops. It was quite a wonder in itself. In the Everfree Forest, everything was at nature's whim, and even though Rick didn't realize it, he felt more at home here than out in town, where there were more reminders of what life was like on Earth. He felt comfortable, and it had given him a slight feeling of peace in his mind.

It had been a week since either Tyrone or Trixie had seen Rick. They were getting worried as he never left when they were awake. The only times he ever left were to get some meat to cook or use the "bathroom". They didn't know what he was doing, but it seemed to make a lot of noise. But sometime in the morning, he busted out of the shuttle, waking up both Trixie and Tyrone. They jumped awake when this happened and stared incredulously at Rick.

Trixie rubbed at her eyes with one of her hooves, "Rick, what _is_ that?"

Rick stood in front of the shuttle's entrance, clad in a white armor. It wasn't as heavy looking or armored as his other suit, but it still seemed to like it could survive quite a beating. Where the knees, elbows and other major joints were, resided a thick sort of tubing, one that would give him better mobility. On the sides of his legs were miniature air compressors, which would suck in and expel air with such force that running or jumping would be the easiest thing ever. That was the hardest part for him to figure out, getting something like that to work.

His shoulders were armored, while his chest used a thick spongy material, which was designed in mind to be able to absorb kinetic blasts and hit with ease. His neck used what seemed like a bomb defusal suit's neck piece, which wasn't too thick, but wasn't something light either. His new helmet didn't use the visor and veil combo as with his previous suit, but made use of a tactical helmet coupled with a blast visor. The visor itself still showed the Heads Up Display, but cut down on the things of less importance.

The suit itself used a battery-powered external frame with synthetic muscle fibers and servomotors, which were essential for what Rick had in mind for it. It would give Rick both decent protection as well as increased strength. On the under part of his right wrist resided a plate that pivoted out from the suit. Opposite the plate was a PDA that allowed him to change his suits settings. On his arms were the tusks, attached to servos that allowed them to deploy from his arms and over his hands. It was close combat that this suit was intended for, and it would also help the best feature for the suit.

It also boasted a motion-sensitive, solar-powered cloaking device. It wouldn't keep his footsteps quiet, and was still experimental, but stealth was important with this suit. As long as he stayed in sunlight and moved slowly, he would be fine. Of course, at night, where there's less light, would prove to be more difficult, but the night itself should compensate that. All in all, he made an amazing stealth suit, one that he was damn proud of.

"This, my fare pony friend, is the latest in my new line of protective suits. It took a bit of time, but I _know_ it's great. You don't spend years at some of the best universities to not know how to engineer something. Ok, most don't, but I specialize in this kind of stuff. Instead of that other model," he pointed behind him towards the other suit hanging off a hook, "I have this stealth variant. Its lighter, quicker, makes me able to jump far, and here's the best part," he moved closer and pressed a button on his wrist PDA.

In a moment, an invisible veil came over him. He literally became invisible, as he snuck around a Trixie with her jaw once again slack. Making no noise, he got behind Trixie and turned off the mechanism.

"YO!"

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

"HAH! OH GOD! THAT SHIT IS _FUNNY!_" He laughed and fell onto the floor, not able to come out of the laughing binge.

Trixie glared knives at him, and he didn't even notice. Soon however, he came to his senses and calmed down.

"That was nowhere near funny, you scared me to death! I can't believe you did that!"

"Yeah, it was impressive wasn't it? Cloaking isn't the easiest thing to pull off, but the suits made of stuff the reflect light already, so it just makes the job a little easier."

"That's not what I'm talking about. That wasn't nice at all."

"Father," they both looked at the mantis, who had grown considerably in the time of a week. Tyrone was roughly the size of a bear, but he still looked up to Rick. "I think that was amazing! You're so full of great ideas! Are there other people like you that can be so inventive?"

"Well son, there are definitely other humans that can do what I do, but at least I add class to it. Sorta. Anyway, how the hell did you get so big? Has it really been that long?"

"It's been a week Father, and my species do grow to adulthood quite quickly."

"Well I'll be damned," he wiped a mock tear from his visor, "They grow up so fast."

Trixie giggled and turned to Rick. "So, what do plan on doing with this new suit?"

"Well, now that mention it, I was wondering something. Is there a place I could get gems or some kind of reflective stones?"

"Well let me think… If I remember right, back in Ponyville, there was a pony who made clothing. She usually used things like rubies, sapphires, emeralds, diamonds, anything really."

"Gems? On clothing? What the hell?"

"What?"

"On Earth, gems were considered as precious minerals worth loads of money. People didn't just throw them onto clothes. Hell, thousands and thousands died because of fighting over diamonds. But here, you guys just wear them like nothing?"

"Well, gems aren't put on everything; she just specializes in gems apparently. By the way, why are you asking?"

"Well, I need them for my next 'weapon'. It makes use of light mostly, but I need gems to give it an edge and use in battle."

He started to walk away from the two and headed down the stairs.

"Wait! Where are you going?"

"To get some gems."

"But if they see you in town, they'll try to capture you!"

"Don't worry, I can be pretty good at laying low."

He smirked and went outside, passing the stasis shield. He continued and stopped when he got back to regular tree lining. He flipped the PDA open and activated the compressors and servos. Combining the two, he was in essence, a Spring-Heel Jack. Or maybe Spring-Heel Rick. Giving the compressors a moment to gather air, he got into a runner's pose. When he saw that the compressors were now able to support him and keep enough air, he let loose and sprung forward into a sprint faster than any human could ever run, straight towards Ponyville.

* * *

><p>This was a weird chapter to write, and I can only imagine in what ways I decide the next one will crank out like. There's not much to say, so leave a review if you need to ask something. Keep it trilla.<p> 


	10. Chapter 10

**Stasis**

**Chapter 10: The Descent**

**By: Stillmatic**

* * *

><p>"Oh my god! This shit is amazing!"<p>

Rick had been testing his new suit before heading to the small town nearby the forest his castle resided in, and all in all, he approved highly of it. Using everything at his disposal, he ran and leaped faster and farther than any human ever could hope to. It was like gravity was turned off for a few seconds and allowed him to go up, almost like being on the Moon again. He jumped from tree line to tree line, and branch to branch.

He jumped down to the floor, which was 30 foot drop from his current spot on a large tree. Before hitting the ground, the compressors released air, killing his fall.

"And Aden said I couldn't build my own working suit. Look whose top engineer now, baby! That's right, the man fucking flying across a forest!"

He began running again, this time to his actual destination. So far, things have been going decent since arriving here. He didn't know _how_ he got here, but he had a few ideas. It didn't actually make any sense at what must have happened for something like this to happen, but it didn't matter so much right now, he needed to ensure a few things. First, he needed a wider variety of weapons, and something that definitely could protect his castle. What Trixie said about those other ponies eventually getting through worried him, was it even possible with their magic?

What would happen to him, Trixie and Tyrone if they managed to break through? An image of a castle alight with fire and smoke came to mind, with them in the center, dead. He shuddered, he knew these creatures weren't cold-hearted, but if desperation became a factor, would they do it? To save themselves some trouble, would they kill him? And what if they caught him? What would they do then? Study him like a lab rat?

He started to slow as he reached closer to this "Ponyville" that Trixie called it. It was some kind of modest village, and the architecture looked stupid amounts of old. It was something from a child's storybook or something, with these little houses with their thatched roofs and their hamlet like appearance. It was, to Rick, disgustingly tranquil looking. He had nothing wrong with their love of peace, but he wasn't the kind of person who _didn't_ occasionally look for trouble. Of course, there was less tranquility at the town square. He chuckled a bit, and almost felt a tinge of guilt at laughing at what would most likely take days, if not weeks of repairs.

He grew cautious now, making sure not to get so close to the end of the forest as to be seen by the residents. Slowing down, he reached the boundary where the forest met the town. Moving behind a tree, he waited a moment. He looked from behind and saw that there was heavy work being done on the square and surrounding houses. He had caused more damage than he thought, but he didn't have time to deal with regret, he had to get in, get what he needed, and get out. Maybe he would find some way to help later, but for now, time was of the essence, as sunset was in at least two hours away.

He noticed something suddenly; someone was looking at him. He memorized its description within a moment before hiding behind the tree again. From what he saw, it was one of those ponies with a reddish mane, an odd pale olive coat, a large pink bow on her head, a smaller body, and a pretty shocked face. Its huge eyes coupled with its hanging jaw almost made Rick laugh out loud. He reminded himself of how important stealth was and kept it to a loud snicker. There was some kind of hidden pleasure to messing with someone like that, and Rick felt it.

"Alrighty, lets test this out, shall we?"

He popped the wrist PDA up and pressed a button, to which a low humming was the response. The response however, meant that it was working, and that was pretty damn good for his ego. He heard yelling for a moment and some other chatter coming from the square. This worried him, but before he knew it, he was immersed in a light coat. It bended around him and kept air distortions minimal, which was obviously a preference for him. He held his hand in front of his face, and saw nothing.

"Superb."

He moved from the tree and looked all around him. As he turned back to the town, he was forced to move out of the way of that small pony from earlier and a larger one who had similar features. It had an orange coat-blonde mane combo, but what really surprised Rick was the fact that this one wore a cowboy hat not too different from an old teammate he used to work with. Used to. That brought back memories that always made Rick stop dead in his tracks, always made him remember the living nightmare he and his group faced.

He shuddered, not realizing that the two passing ponies had fully heard him. They turned to look at him, but found nothing.

"What was that? Was it that thing I saw?"

"Look here; don't play games like this Applebloom. There's a monster," Rick snapped out of his reliving of the past and focused on the conversation as soon as he heard that, "on the loose in the Everfree Forest and you can't just run around because you think you saw something. What if something bad happened? What if it was actually there and grabbed you?"

"I'm sorry, Sis. I just thought I saw something look at me and I didn't know what else to do. I don't know if it was a monster, but it was pretty big!"

"It's fine, just please, don't go wander off. Stick to the town and don't go adventuring with your friends. I know it's hard, but until we do something about this thing, you and your friends have to stay put."

"Awww, but Applejack, we really want something to do!"

"Go help Pinkie Pie make some grub for the workers then, she could use some hooves. And remember what I said, no going into the forest!"

"Alright, Sis, we won't."

They soon walked back, away from Rick. He sighed, to which the older one looked back at with a raised eyebrow. He held his breathe, and after a few moments, she walked away towards the town square.

'Damn't, I can't make stupid mistakes like that! I need to get in and get this thing done, ASAP.'

He walked lightly over to the town square; careful to avoid or do anything that might attract his attention. The place was crawling with ponies in hardhats and the like, which made things harder for him. As he passed the square, he noticed again the area he had damaged. Near what looked like an important building, there was a large dent in the stone that was the ground. He must have been pretty mad to come crashing down like that, especially to do that much damage.

Finding this building was pretty tough, due to not being able to see the entire town from his current location. What would this building even look like? Trixie hadn't bothered telling him what it did look like, or where it even was. He didn't have time to get back now though, time was not the kind of thing worth wasting at this point. He decided that getting to higher ground would be the best approach at this point.

Surveying the area, he noticed that two things were taller than most structures in the town. One was the building he dropped from; the other was a large tree. The building was definitely not the best choice, due to work being done on it without pause. The workers occasionally swapped to give others a break, but it was clockwork, and that would only compromise his chances. He decided that the tree would be a better approach; not many things would be by a tree.

From his point at the square, he followed the towering tree from behind houses in his way. He walked around, trying to find his way over. After a minute, he arrived to find what really shouldn't have been possible. It was a tree, but it also looked like a _house._ It had windows and a door, and seemed like it would be occupied by someone. To Rick, it didn't seem possible by either the laws of nature or physics at how this thing still stood, despite most likely being gutted.

Coming back from staring at the tree, he focused on the task at hand, getting to the top of the tree without the cloak going out on him. He would have to move slowly and make no noise for whatever lived inside the tree. He moved to the trunk and he sprung his tusks from his arms. They were most likely made for killing, but they would probably just as functional as climbing tools. He considered that again, and shook his head. It wasn't worth the risk and frankly, he wanted to not be paralyzed from falling from a tree.

He retracted the tusks and lowered himself. He sprung up, and with the help of the compressors and servos, he got high enough to land on a branch. Of course, it shook and his cloak phased for a moment, but those things weren't very noticeable, seeing as though no one seemed to be around this part of town for now. He leaped up to another branch, grabbing hold and swinging himself to another. Putting himself on top of this one, he prepared to jump to another and leapt up and forward. He did manage to land, but as soon as he did, he heard cracking. He looked down to see the branch instantly giving way to him.

He fell roughly 7 feet before hitting the floor of a balcony and rolling inside. He laid on the floor, not moving. He was watching the ceiling, not daring to move incase his crash made noise. Sure enough, he heard a voice.

"Hello? Is someone there? Is that you Twi'?"

He got up quickly and silently and moved against a wall. For a house, things seemed significantly smaller on the inside. But that was to be expected when the main creatures on this planet were half his size. He held his breathe and waited. Eventually an odd looking creature walked up stairs not too far from him. It was like a lizard, except bigger, had slightly human features, and stood on two legs. It almost looked like a dragon, but he wouldn't jump to conclusions just yet.

It looked around for a few moments before shrugging and turning to head back down the stairs.

"Nothing, I guess."

Rick heard what sounded like a stomach that was left unattended for too long.

"Mmm, what I'd give for some topaz. Maybe," his voice lowered as did his body, "Rarity has some spare gems that I could have. I hope she's willing to give some away."

Rick caught that, as an idea crossed his mind. He could easily follow this thing to wherever this "Rarity" was and proceed to either take whatever he was given or take from the shop itself. He'd decide when he got there, and would pick whatever was more convenient. Robbing a hungry creature wasn't exactly something he wanted to do, but he knew he would have to if it came to it. Besides, what living thing actually _ate gems?_ That just didn't seem to make sense, what nutrients could something get from a gem?

He followed the creature down the stairs as it left the literal tree house. It seemed to be a library of sorts, holding not as many books as the archives he's visited, but for how technologically deprived these ponies were, it must have been quite a collection. He watched as the lizard made its way out the door and into the town, closing the door behind itself. Rick waited a few moments, to make sure no one was around when he opened it. He went outside and slowly caught up with the dragon.

After a few minutes of walking, they were both outside an odd looking house. It almost looked like something at a theme park or something. It made him cringe; just the way it looked was enough to upset his stomach. He pushed that aside; it didn't matter what the place looked like, he just wanted gems. The lizard walked inside and closed the door behind him, not giving Rick enough time to walk past.

'Damn. Maybe there's an open window or door or something.'

Rick looked around and saw a balcony above him. He looked around before jumping up and walking into the open door. He was in a large, round room with various items for clothing making all around. He looked around and found nothing related to gems. There had been none at all, no clue of them at all, and most importantly nothing even remotely interesting. This place was a dud, and he knew it.

"Why Spike, of course you can have some. I would have thought that Twilight would have given you some by now, but she has been _so_ busy with the Princesses. Come, let's get some nice gems for you."

Rick froze; someone was coming up. He noticed the lack of lighting in this room, despite the balcony door being open. Realizing something was about to go wrong, he looked at his body and noticed that he was slightly opaque. He was starting to look like a ghost like figure, and it would not work well into the whole plan of "stealth".

"Thanks Rarity. Did anyone ever mention how generous you are?"

"Oh thank you Spike!"

They arrived at the top of the stairs and walked into the room. Rick had hidden behind a tall rack of clothing bolts. It wasn't ideal cover, but it would make do until he thought of a plan. He could just wait it out, but who knew how long they would be here, and by then it could be night. Another option would be to bust out, steal the gems, and run back to the castle. That might not be the best plan, but before even trying it, he'd wait it out for a bit.

* * *

><p>It had been half an hour waiting for Rick. Half an hour of watching these two talk and laugh and other bullshit that he honestly did not have the patience for. He looked outside to see that the sun was setting and he was becoming more opaque.<p>

'Goddamnit! How about you two assholes finish talking and get on with your goddamn lives?'

He was fed up at this point, and he started trying to figure out a quick plan. After a few minutes and some bad ideas, Rick came to the conclusion that scaring them into giving him the gems would be his best bet. He even came up with a creative way to do it! He would use his half-visibility to take on the guise of a ghost or some kind of phantom. He'd then proceed to scare the shit out of the two and force them to give him gems. It was perfectly crude enough to work.

He heard them laugh once more and suddenly, all patience left him. He was about to go into an angry fit before he realized that he was meant to scare them without any real emotion. An angry ghost was a ghost you'd fight against, a neutral one was one you gave what it wanted.

* * *

><p>"Oh Spike, how kind of you to say! Do you really like my designs that much?"<p>

"Of course Rarity! I don't know anyone better than you!"

There was a thump sounding from somewhere in the room. They looked around themselves for anything that might have made the noise.

"What was that?"

"Maybe Dash crashed into the Boutique?"

"I do hope she's alright…"

Rarity then proceeded to scream at the top of her lungs in horror as Spike jumped in shock. He turned to see something spectacularly horrific. Coming from behind a rack of clothing bolts was a creature, mostly white and walking on two legs like Spike. He was amazed at that, but his fear overtook that quickly, making his eyes wide. It had what looked like a roundish white head with a half of a grayish face. It looked as if it were working out for quite some time, as evidenced by its stature and broad shoulders.

It held its head low, but just high enough so they could see eyes through the gray and a scowl beneath them. It looked directly at them as it slowly walked, arms slightly farther than they should be from the side of its body. It walked with slow, deliberate steps and they watched in fear as it closed in. The oddest thing and definitely the scariest was that it _wasn't fully visible_! It seemed to be see-through as it walked over. They could easily see the wall on the opposite side through it.

It got within three feet, stopped, and then leaned forward.

"Gems," it snarled at them.

Rarity was confused and shocked at what it had said, especially at the fact it could talk.

"W-what?"

"I won't say it again… Give. Me. Gems."

"You- You can't just c-come in here and d-demand gems! Who do you think you are?"

"Unless you want to all of your friends to die today, you'll give me gems!"

Her eyes widened immensely, at least by 50% more.

"You're threatening my friends? W-who are you? Are you another one of those Diamond Dogs?"

"Must I extract the location of the gems? Give them to me now! Or YOU will suffer the consequences first!"

Spike's head shot up and looked at the half transparent creature with scorn.

"Don't you DARE THREATEN HER!"

"Or what? You'll burn me?" it snarled. It chortled at the small dragon.

"Good idea…" Spike huffed back and filled his chest. Before the creature could react, he let out one of his largest flames yet. For a dragon, it was meager at best, for him, it was huge.

"SHIT!"

The creature backed away as parts of him started to turn darker. Out of the flame range, it wiped at itself to get rid of any of the green flame that may have caught onto him. The fire-breath died down a moment later, leaving a small dragon with a piercing look on its face. The creature didn't seem phased in the least, in fact, it lifted the gray part of its head, revealing a face that Rarity gasped at. In its eyes were a number of things; annoyance, hatred, and most importantly, impatience. Its mouth was now even a bigger scowl, now fully showing its teeth.

"You just made a fuckin' mistake, bitch…"

The creature moved to Spike so fast that it was close to unbelievable. The only person they knew that was that fast was Dash, and that was when she was _flying._ It grabbed Spike by his neck and held it into the air. The creature's eyes dissolved a little, as if it felt some kind of nostalgia, but they quickly returned to their previous state.

"Hmm, what to do with this lizard… Ah, I got an idea…"

It tossed Spike upwards a bit from where its arms were. It then used the other to smash Spike straight into the floor with enough force to knock him out. Rarity let out a scream and started crying as the creature grabbed Spike from his tail. It lifted him in front of Rarity and shook Spike once.

"Expect this to happen to all of your friends, except they won't just be knocked out. Give me what I want."

Rarity cried and walked over to a small cabinet on her right with tears rolling down her cheeks. She sniffled loudly as she used her levitation to put a key into the cabinet, unlocking it. She pulled it back and she saw the creature's jaw go slack. It quickly went back to its original state, and went to look through the gems. Rarity noticed that it seemed to be looking for specific kinds of gems, as it tossed unwanted ones onto the floor.

Within a few minutes she calmed slightly, but that was short lived. She jumped when it suddenly yelled.

"EXCELLENT! Just what I've been looking for. These are surprisingly well-cut and polished pretty damn nicely."

Rarity eased herself at the compliments, even if the creature hadn't realized it was her that had done the hard work of making the gems looking presentable. It took half a dozen or so gems and stuffed them into a compartment in its body. Rarity gawked at that; it seems that it was actually some kind of clothing, not the skin of the creature. It was nice looking, and it seemed to be practical as well. She knew that whatever this thing was, it was more intelligent than she had originally given it credit for. She still despised it for what it had done to her shop and Spike, but she could _feel_ that it was only trying to do right in its own way.

It returned the gems it dropped and closed the cabinet, locking it. It sighed and looked at her with regretful eyes.

"I'm sorry for I had to do, but I was left with no choice. Thanks for these."

It started to walk away and towards the balcony. The whiteness of it radiated in the last of the sunset's rays. Rarity could have sworn it became more transparent as it walked out onto the balcony. It then turned to her, looking at her with that same look.

"I can't really express my regret for doing this, but please, don't think of me as a monster. I'll repay you one day."

It then lowered itself slightly and sprang from the balcony and landed with a heavy thud outside. Rarity ran to the balcony to see it become less and less visible with each second. It seemed to just walk away as if it had completed its duty. Within a few seconds, it was gone, invisible to her. She looked at the surrounding area; there were a few ponies that stopped with loose jaws, confused at what they had just seen.

Some looked up to Rarity at her balcony, with questioning looks. She couldn't care however, as she turned to Spike, who was starting to come to. He moved and kicked around as he suddenly woke up, eyes blinking.

"What happened?"

"We were visited."

"BY WHO!"

"I'm not sure. Somepony who wasn't a monster."

* * *

><p>Rick felt regret at what he'd done. He didn't want to hurt the small lizard thing, but his anger took over when he had been scorched. He also didn't mean to reveal so much information at the end, but it was too late to worry about that now. What he had to worry about was the sun that was setting within a few moments. With less light, his cloak would eventually run out, making him closer to visible. He started to quicken his pace as he reached the town square again.<p>

The sun had set by the time he got there. The ponies were still working now, and it seems that they had placed torches around for light. He couldn't use that kind of light however, only the sun's rays would power his cloak. He popped his PDA up and checked his cloak's battery levels. It was near depleted, which would have left him with less than a minute to actually get to the forest across from him. He knew what he had to do; he would have to cross the construction near the middle of the square as fast as his cloak would let him. It was extremely risky, but he had no other choice, time was against him.

He moved with dexterity, passing each pony and avoiding every single one. He could feel his heart starting to race as he saw his battery reaching half of what it was before. This worried him; he didn't have a chance of making it at this rate. Knowing this, his last chance was to use his servos to propel himself fast enough. He knew he'd be seen, but they wouldn't have time to react. He crouched, but was cut short when he heard the voice of the pony from a few minutes ago.

"TWILIGHT! SPIKES BEEN HURT!"

Everyone in the square looked at her, which gave him the best chance to leave. Letting power run to his legs, he released them into a sprint. He was gaining speed and his battery was barely functioning. Ponies he ran past felt the wind left by him, only to turn around to nothing. He silently chuckled to himself.

'These things are so goddamn easy to trick!'

His self-congratulations was short lived however, as a large red pony walked right into his path. Rick saw this immediately, but didn't have the time or ability to react. He hit it head on, knocking it on its side while he tumbled over it and fell visor first into the stone ground. He slid with his legs over his head for roughly ten feet before coming to a stop. He looked to see loads of ponies staring directly at him.

"Did you see that? Something hit Big Mac and then the floor! Are you alright Big Mac?"

"Eyup."

Then, to Rick's dismay, a loud warping sound followed by even louder cracking sounded all across the square. He looked around himself again to see the same ponies looking at him in awe.

This was not good, not in the least. He got up and looked around him quickly. There had to be dozens of these ponies around him. He considered jumping away, but the flying ones would surely knock him out of the air. He was contemplating what to do when he suddenly heard speaking.

"THAT'S HIM! THAT WAS THE CREATURE THAT ATTACKED SPIKE AND ROBBED ME!"

He cursed himself; he should have threatened the pony to not speak about what happened. Suddenly all the ponies around him glared with angry expressions at him, some with more disgust in them than others. It seems as his luck was close to running out, and he knew it as soon as he heard another booming voice come from behind the crowd. It sounded familiar…

"SEIZE HIM AT ONCE!"

Suddenly, the crowd backed up to make room for what looked like some kind of royal police force. They were all white and had golden armor on. It almost looked like something out of a gladiator movie. Some had wings, some had horns, and some had neither. They busted into the middle of the scene as a purple bubble shield came up from around the spot. Rick moved to the shield, but as soon as he touched it, he was tossed back by the force it emitted. It seemed as though he would have to fight it out.

The police force of a dozen spread out, trying to corner him. He saw this however and jumped at the nearest one in the air. He landed on it easily and forced it to crash down to the hard ground. The crowd looked stunned and let out cries of disgust as he got up to see that he had broken its right wing. Rick was kicked out of the way by another one and two others dragged the one who had broken his wing out of the shield. It seems as though only ponies were able to leave. Well, one was down, only 11 more left to take care of.

The force had grown more cautious as he plotted what to do next. He looked around; they had him surrounded in the middle. He saw another winged pony hold a net as it dropped it above Rick. This pissed him off; who were they to treat him like some animal that you could just net and bring down? They were going to be in for a hell of a surprise.

Rick backed up and caught the net by one of the weights at one of its corners. A winged pony flew at him due to it believing Rick would be distracted by the net. Rick grabbed the opposite corner and caught the pony in the net as Rick swung it to the ground. It hit the ground and he secured it by grabbing the areas before each weight. Three regular ponies came at him, ready to free their comrade.

Rick spun around with the netted pony, swinging it in a cyclone of white and gold. He hit each advancing pony and launched the netted one out of the shield. It had been stunned by the beating and would probably not be able to continue. Seizing opportunity by the reigns, Rick punched at one of the guards, knocking it away a few feet. Another one kicked him right into the tackle of another as he fell to the floor. He got up immediately to see the two ponies huffing, but ready to continue.

'Let's see if I can't remedy that.'

The third pony got up again and was furious. It charged at Rick, but he jumped up into the air right before he might have made contact. He grabbed at the pony's neck and swung around it, landing on its back. It was definitely pissed off now, as it began bucking and trying to knock Rick off. If he didn't do something, Rick would eventually get throw off and most likely trampled to death or worse, unconsciousness.

Rick removed the helmet and swung an arm around the neck of the pony. He linked hands and slowly closed the gap between his forearm and the pony's neck. Putting it into a choke hold, it began bucking harder and harder. But Rick kept on it, constricting its throat. Eventually, the pony started to slow down. It was no match for Rick's tight grip, and it knew it. It slowly passed out, as Rick grabbed it over his shoulders and tossed it out the barrier.

He looked back to the other ones, who had been watching, stunned. When they saw Rick was looking back, they shook off the surprise and scowled at him. They were both charging at Rick now, and Rick tried dodging it by jumping again. This however, was what they expected, as they reversed themselves and both of them bucked him at the same time. One hit him in the lower chest while the other hit his right thigh. Rick was pushed back mid-air straight into the shield was blasted back by it.

He landed right on top of the two ponies, putting them right next to defenselessness. Rick got up half-way and let loose his rage onto the two guard ponies. With each punch, they curled up in pain more and more. He felt those same primal instincts take over again as he spilled their blood across the floor, and as some of the crowd started gasping, crying, yelling and covering their eyes. He hadn't stopped for at least for half a minute, by which time, massive damage had been done. He was huffing as he was suddenly knocked off them.

They were being lifted with some kind of blue aura and out of the shield. He held his arms out and yelled at the top of his lungs.

"COWARDS! COME FIGHT ME!"

The crowd gasped again, letting Rick know that they had never actually thought he could speak. He had taken out 5 guards, and now the last seven had joined him inside the bubble. He could tell that there were 2 horned ones, 2 winged ones, and 3 more regular ones waiting to try and take him down for their teammates. He smacked at his chest and opened his arms to them.

"COME ON! YOU THINK YOU'RE TOUGH SHIT? JUST TRY AND FUCKIN' ATTACK ME!"

They were slightly thrown off by this, but they focused on him intently. They quickly formulated a plan of attack, while moving in to surround him. He responded by letting out the tusks on his arms. They didn't expect this and most flinched, becoming uneasy at the sight. They knew that the danger of this situation was about to get out of hand and that they had to stop this creature quick. Rick ran at the nearest one, a horned pony, jumping onto it and putting his legs around its neck. It was quickly brought down face first, as Rick used his right tusk to shank it in the ribcage.

It screamed in agony as he pulled it out quick and using the other to land a similar blow. When he removed that one, he was greeted by a kick to the shoulder by a regular pony. He was knocked off as the horned pony was dragged out of the circle. The crowd was growing restless now, shouting to take him down and bring him to justice. He decided that it was a decent response to flip them off, which he did. They didn't seem to understand it, but with his smirk, it was evident that it was an insult.

While distracted, two horned ponies ripped the tusks off his arms with their aura. He felt the tug and was thrown down to the floor hard. He was recovering as he saw his worst fear was about to happen. Time slowed for a second as he saw all of the ponies mid-air, about to dog pile onto him.

"Shit."

That was the last thing he said before his vision was covered by pony ass, armor, tails and angry faces. He knew we wouldn't be able to throw them all off at once, which was his only option due to any pony that fell off would most likely jump right back on. He grew solemn as an idea crossed his mind. He knew _how_ to escape; he just didn't want to _do it._ He managed to get his arms in front of him, which was surprisingly hard.

Popping the PDA out, he hit a few keys on it. A red warning screen popped out asking, 'Are you sure you want to execute this command?' He hit 'Yes' and tried his best to spread his limbs at every angle. His suit started shaking as he started regretting hitting 'Yes'. Soon, the rumbling let to screeching from the suit, and that led to a kinetic burst coming from it. He opened his eyes to be greeted by a semi-fortunate scene. All the ponies laid strewn on the floor, out cold. He looked at himself and found no suit, only his dog tags, the horn, and clothing.

Pieces of the suit were all over, which Rick figured that once they broke past the guards, they must have ricocheted of the shield, hitting anything until it lost velocity. None were seriously hurt minus one winged pony, but they all laid out cold on the floor. They were then covered by a purple aura and dragged out of the small area. Rick turned as his newest challengers entered.

They were those "Princesses"; he could tell by their crowns and overall grander appearance. They scowled at him and glared daggers at his soul. He knew that they wanted revenge for what he had done to their precious police force, but he would do everything he could to survive against them. Problem was that he was essentially defenseless without his suit or any weapons. He cursed at himself for leaving the Panther behind. He soon realized that his chances of winning were slim, due to those two obviously being more powerful at magic than any of the other ponies.

They would most likely launch lighting or some kind of frost attack to slow him down. True to his thoughts, they both sparked their horns and each launched a bolt at him. He rolled out of the way, barely managing to dodge it. He noticed that a few of his hairs were standing up, but brushed that aside. They started charging their horns again, this time each launching a large energy beam at him. He managed to dive to the floor in time, but the smaller one, the Princess he saw on the Moon, shot once more, hitting him in the shin.

He screamed out in pain as she smiled at his weakening.

"Agh! You dumb bitch! You want to fight with magic, I'LL GIVE YOU MAGIC!"

He got up, limping in pain as he held an arm to the back of his side. He felt the fire coming to him, slowly killing the pain in his leg. He straightened it as a small ball of fire became evident in his hand. The two Princesses gawked with wide eyes at this; they'd never would have guessed that he had already been learning spells. He then launched the ball forward, to which it neared in front of them before exploding.

As the smoke cleared, he saw that they had actually been injured; not enough to stop them but enough to make them wince in pain. He smirked and started charging again, ready to throw another explosive fireball. Tossing it, he primed it early to make sure it would be able to explode reasonably closer. But they were crafty, and they threw up a reflective barrier that launched it right back at him. His eyes grew wide as he ducked in order to avoid the fireball. It hit the shield behind him and exploded, knocking him off his feet and falling face forward.

He got up and saw another smirk. It was that same damn smirk as before, except this time, it was more smug. He instantly flew off the handle and started to launch fireballs left and right at them while running in a semicircle so they couldn't reflect them back to him. Nothing seemed to break the shield, and soon, he gave up on using that tactic. He backed up and focused, looking at them with scornful eyes. They gave the same thing back and this angered him even more.

He threw both of his arms and palms in front of him as fire slowly sprung from them. He released a geyser of fire at them, heating the inside of the shield immensely. It was soon getting _too_ warm for either side. Rick stopped, and they lowered their shields, panting at the heat. He was getting tired and close to passing out from exhaustion. He kept himself awake however, and continued fighting.

As he looked at them, the larger one shot lightning at him without warning. He fell to the floor, convulsing and shaking. They closed in as he started to shake off the electricity. He was on the floor and raised his legs from their lying state to keeping him steady. He lifted his head and held his arms out as he started launching volley after volley of fire at them. They were caught by surprise and retreated. But in this, Rick's anger grew stronger and more vengeful. Soon, no fire came out of his hands. Instead, something replaced it. Lightning was now being fired just as fast as the fire from his hands. Their jaws dropped as he launched at least a dozen bolts at them.

They each hit perfectly, each of them landing their target in key areas. They soon fell, hitting the floor convulsing just as he did. He walked up to the smaller, darker one and smirked.

"Don't _ever_ think you can cross that line. Don't fuck with me, bitch, I can kill you at any time I want. You don't know what I've done."

He soon heard screaming as they were pulled away from him and out of the barrier. He backed up to his side and watched with his arms crossed as a familiar purple pony walked towards him, anger and rage on its face. It had a horn, and a purple mane with a magenta streak, and its eyes were forced a blinding light out of them as a gold tiara on its head lit up as well. Soon five other ponies with necklaces came to back her up, two of which he recognized as ones he had hurt earlier.

They all began floating in the air as Rick took a step back. They glowed some kind of holy aura and then launched two large spiraling rainbows into the air, which reached their apex quickly as they formed together to form a massive one.

"Shit…"

That was the last word he said before he became covered and crushed by the rainbow. It was agonizing, and he had no protection from it. Within a few moments, it died down, only leaving the six ponies on the ground and Rick face-first on the floor.

* * *

><p>The Elements of Harmony each sighed in relief at the creature being purified. It had been lying down for a at least minute before they even dared to approach. With their leader, Twilight Sparkle, first, they walked to it slowly. Rainbow Dash arrived first, to which she nudged the creature with her hoof to see if it was still alive. She didn't get a response, but moved aside for Twilight as she came to inspect it.<p>

"I think we did it… The Elements of Harmony could even stop this creature _and_ purify it! We've finally defeated this monster…"

"He's not a monster; he's just trying to survive!"

All six turned to a blue pony with a large bug at her side. It was Trixie, who they were surprised was still alive. The large bug next to her seemed to walked quickly to them, as they readied themselves to defend against it. But it didn't come their way, and instead walked over the other creature on the floor. They watched as it poked the monster, testing it to see if it was still alive, just as Dash did. It then lowered itself, sitting next to the body. To their surprise it started speaking.

"Father… What have they done to you? You mustn't stop fighting! We _need_ you!"

They were stunned at the sight; it seems that the monster had a child, at least, an adopted one. It showed true worry for the monster, and that slightly warmed their hearts. Trixie ran up beside the bug and watched with tears in her eyes.

"Damn't Rick! You can't stop now! Don't stop now… We should have come earlier to help, I'm sorry… What they did... Did it change you?"

If that didn't shock them, nothing would at that point. Trixie had actually grown up a little since they've last seen her. She showed actual compassion now, and it was all because of this monster that had terrorized Ponyville for the last few days. They almost felt a sorrow or regret, but they remembered what it had done, and this soon fueled their spite again.

Twilight spoke up, "Trixie! Get away from it! You don't know what you're doing!"

Rainbow Dash commented, "You traitor! You'd rather side with that, that _thing_ over your fellow ponies? What kind of Equestrian are you?"

Trixie shot her a glare that made Dash subside, "You don't even know why he was doing what he did! He was just trying to make sure that we were safe! If it weren't for him, a Manticore would have killed me by now! You don't know him! You can't understand what kind of person he is!"

Applejack tried reasoning with her, "Honey, that thing hurt a lot of people and destroyed a lot of property. We needed to bring it down for the good of everyone."

"And what about him? Who knows how you might have changed him!"

Twilight spoke back, "If anything, _he'll_ probably be a better pony!"

A groan was heard, and everyone, including the crowd who had been watching both sides duke it out, looked straight at the creature on the floor. It groaned again, signifying that it was waking up.

Pinkie Pie moved to Twilight slyly, "Maybe he'll be a good guy now! That's what happened to Princess Luna!"

"I hope so Pinkie, I really hope so."

They all watched as it managed itself to its knees. It grabbed around the necks of the blue pony and the green bug by its side. It pulled them in close and whispered something into their ears.

"B-but Rick… We can't!"

The creature coughed and wheezed horribly.

"Father, I will absolutely do no such thing! The very thought…"

It whispered again, and this time both the pony and the bug's faces seemed to change to more solemn ones, ones of sad and desperate acceptance.

"Rick… Why? It doesn't make sense, we can't just abandon you!"

All six Elements of Harmony gave each other odd looks before resuming the show before them.

"Father, Trixie was right, you are too headstrong… I will take her back, but please, you must come back to us. There's still so much we must do!"

The creature chuckled a labored chuckle. This time, it spoke loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Thank you both, now please, go and get to the castle. I need to finish this, and when I'm done, expect me back." It coughed up blood onto the floor, making some cringe at the sight. "I'm sure as hell am going to be expecting some stag steak when I get back though, so get cracking son…" He chuckled again.

"Yes father…"

With a swift motion, the bug lifted Trixie into the air and onto its back. They started to walk towards the forest before giving amazingly sad and depressed looks to the creature on its knees, holding itself up with its two arms. They soon walked out of the barriered area and walked into the forest. After a few moments, no one could see them past the foliage.

The creature looked up from the floor, and directly at the six in front of it.

"What did you," it coughed up more blood, "do to me?"

Taken aback by the question, Twilight answered, "We purified you. What we did was cleanse you of all the hate and evil inside you."

"No…"

"What?"

"You don't understand do you?" More blood came from its mouth, leaking from both sides. "What you did... It nearly killed me. I don't know what the hell you did, but that thing hit me harder than a train... If you were trying to 'purify' me, trying to get rid of all the 'bad' in me... you messed up... Did you... Honestly think that that goddamn rainbow would change me?"

It started to raise its voice and grow louder.

"Did you honestly _FUCKING_ think, that a fucking rainbow would 'purify' me? ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS? DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM? I'VE SURVIVED THINGS WAY WORSE THAN THE _BULLSHIT_ YOU JUST TRIED PULLING! YOU CAN'T CHANGE WHO I AM! I HAVE TOO MUCH HATRED TO BE CHANGED! I'VE DONE THINGS THAT WOULD FORCE YOU AWAKE FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIVES! AND YOU JUST TRY CHANGING ME! NO! I CAN'T CHANGE! I'M !"

It was straining at its face contorting to the anger and undying hatred it felt at this point. It wasn't ready to change. It wasn't ready to leave all the anger and sadness it felt years ago. It kept itself a self-fueling ball of fire that never seemed to fully die out. As long as it kept the weight of its past on its shoulders, it would forever be a threat to everything around it.

It had been a long, silent minute as the creature slowly calmed down. It grabbed at its right side with the left arm, trying to assist its breathing. The wet wheezing sounds started to disgust ponies and make them nauseous. It held back its head, and then leaned forward and let out a fine mist of blood. Some ponies fainted in the crowd, but the Elements of Harmony stood their ground in slight horror and apprehensiveness.

Instead of saving the creature, they might have given it its death sentence. They had underestimated the force they put into the blast, and they felt some kind of empathy towards what was coughing up blood in front of them. Fluttershy felt the horrible guilt piling onto her, to the point where she couldn't take it anymore. She rushed to the creature, ready to help it.

"Please, let me help you."

It turned its head to the side and coughed more. It turned back and made direct eye contact with Fluttershy. She slinked back a little, but strengthened her resolve to get closer.

"No."

"But I can help you," she got closer to it, almost touching it.

It lightly used a hoof to nudge her back, obviously not wanting any help.

"I don't… need... help…" Its breathing was getting worse.

"But if you'd just give me a chance!"

She came closer and it gave a less gentle nudge. She looked at it intently; she knew that she'd have to force her help onto it. But before she could actually do much, a small, white rabbit hopped passed her and kicked at the head of the creature. It was one of Fluttershy's animal friends, Angel the rabbit. He seemed to have been stomping on the creature quite furiously.

"Angel, stop! He's hurt!"

The rabbit didn't stop however, and a growl could be heard coming from the downed creature. It seemed that its patience wore too thin to tolerate the small nuisance. It grabbed Angel in a tight grip, and threw him so far that he flew over the closest row of houses. It coughed up more blood and started wheezing harder. The cost of ridding itself of a pest was a worse condition to be in.

She was taken aback at it. How could it just throw one of her friends and not care? She started to get angry and frustrated with this creature that would not accept help, would not care, and was just plain rude! She felt herself starting up a "Stare" as she glared hard at the creature. It looked up and deep into her eyes. In her state, even she could see that its eyes were going blank. YES! It was working! Even something like this would crumble under her "Stare".

Then the creature moved closer, it winced slightly as it grabbed at its neck with its right hoof. But it wasn't grabbing at its neck, and Fluttershy would soon know what it was about to do.

With a large smack sound, Fluttershy was tossed to her side. Everyone literally gasped at the sight. Who would be cruel enough to hit someone like Fluttershy? Why would anyone do something like that? She was left stunned on the floor, crying. Suddenly the remaining Elements rushed at the creature, cornering it. It was still in the same position as before now, on its knees being held up by its hooves while looking down. It was still coughing up blood, but that didn't even begin to quell the anger they felt over what it did.

Pinkie Pie spoke up, "HEY! WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA? YOU CAN'T HIT FLUTTERSHY LIKE THAT!"

"Mister, you're about to be in a world of hurt!" Applejack threatened.

"How dare you treat a lady like that!" Rarity added.

"Why I oughta…" Rainbow Dash pushed.

"You disgust me." was all Twilight Sparkle could say.

The creature looked at them for a moment before crawling over to Fluttershy. They were stunned at the fact it thought it could just have its way still. It had some nerve doing what it did. It looked through her hooves and into her watery eyes.

"Do… you… know… why… I… did ... that?"

She shook her head slightly.

"You… fucked… with… my mind… When… you… tried… brainwashing me… my mind… began… decaying…" It coughed up some blood on her, making her flinch slightly. "You… can't… understand… the pain… that gave me… No one... is allowed... to mess... with my... goddamn... brain..."

It turned to look at the others and got closer to Fluttershy.

"Besides… I couldn't… let you see… the things… I've seen…"

It then forced itself up, splurting blood from its mouth all over the floor and the six. They recoiled a bit, disgusted at that. It got on its two feet and looked up at the sky. It gazed at the Moon for a moment.

"What a roof…"

It pulled the horn around its neck, lifting it up to its lips. It gave a small kiss before collapsing. They watched it fall, letting it hit the floor hard. Twilight saw something however, something was happening underneath it. Everyone soon noticed the glow coming from underneath it, which started to get brighter with each moment. Soon, a flash happened, lighting the area slightly.

Twilight knew what was happening, and said, "Everyone! Back up! Something's coming!"

The other Elements gave her an odd look before she forced them out of the shield, Fluttershy in tow. Soon, some kind of apparition came before the creature. It was similar in structure, but had some different features on it.

"RICK! Thank god, you're ALIVE! I thought we lost you! It's bad Rick, real bad."

The creature flipped itself, now looking at the similar apparition.

"Aden? How the… hell did… you find me?"

"I picked up on your PDA, and something you have with you is giving off some kind of wave, and that gave me an idea of where to find you. Geez, you don't sound good in the least. Look, I know this is going to sound odd, but," it got closer so only the other creature could hear, "let yourself get captured by these things. I know, I know, but trust me, I know what I'm talking about."

"You bastard… where are you?"

"I'm on the Moon right now. Look, I'll explain everything later. Just let yourself get captured."

The creature coughed again, and spoke, "Fine… just get me… some help…"

"You got it. Also, if you see anyone else from Earth, absolutely, DO NOT TRUST THEM! I can't stress this enough Rick. There's something at work here, and it can't be good."

"Yeah… yeah… just call… back later…"

"Stay strong, Rick. A lot is counting on us now. Stay TTG."

"Word…"

The apparition faded, leaving only a coughing and wheezing creature in the bubble. The Elements walked back in to capture it, but were suddenly forced out as the shield came crashing down and falling into thousands of pieces. Another shield took its place, this one more yellow and see-through. A strange anomaly formed on the opposite side of the creature. It was a floating mass of energy or magic it seemed.

Something walked out.

It was another one of those creatures. This one was shorter, had a dark, shiny mane, and had a relatively muscular build. It had a devilish grin on its face, while toting a large bag.

"Hah! Well, look who it is! Rick!"

"T-Tobias? You're dead… you can't be here…"

"Please, Rick, give me _more_ credit than that! It appears you're about to get captured, and willingly! Or at least, you will. Unfortunately, Hadrian insists we euthanize anyone with even a single temptation to betray our goal. I apologize for the inconvenience. But, we will not stand for a traitor having the 'Gift'. I once again apologize, but I must take it back from you," it reached into the bag by its side and pulled out some kind of sick looking, large syringe, "forcefully…"

"You bastard! HELP ME!"

"Heheh, helping a traitor while trying to enforce? That's very hypocritical."

The shorter creature walked over to the original one and kneeled down. The original one was far too tired to do anything or even defend itself. The shorter one then stabbed the large syringe into the other's torso. It let out a loud cry, wincing in pain. Something was coming out of the torso and filling the syringe. It was a murky and green, and it glowed oddly. The syringe was half-way full when nothing else came out.

It removed the syringe and placed it into the bag.

"Danke, Rick. Hadrian will be pleased to get this back."

"Fuck… you…"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. I hoped you learned something from that, but I'm afraid I was wrong. Well, no matter, I'm off!"

It started walking back to the floating mass, before it turned around and looked at the other creature.

"You know, I think I have something else for you after all… Come on, get up."

It lifted the other one up and propped it one its hooves. It swayed, but was kept steady by the other. The new creature went into its bag and pulled out a small sharp instrument. Any pony doctor could recognize this as a scalpel, but most of the crowd understood what it was as it glistened.

It then proceeded to jab the scalpel into the stomach of the original creature, forcing it to lean forward with its mouth open in pain. Everyone in the crowd gasped, some even threw up at the sick and cruel sight. Applejack couldn't bear to watch a defenseless creature being gutted alive in front of her, no matter what it did to them.

"That- that just ain't right! Someone do _something_!"

When she saw no one move or listen, she grimaced and headed to the yellow bubble. She walked into it, but hit it like it was a brick wall, face first. She recoiled at hitting her muzzle, but she soon recovered and started bucking at the shield. Her work seemed to do nothing at all, as the sadistic creature cut and sliced at the belly of the other.

The shorter one look back at her and laughed. It turned to the dying one and said, "Would you look at that, Rick, now they're trying to _help_ you! What a joke, yes?"

With one final slice across the belly, it dropped the wounded creature onto the hard floor. It laid there, not moving. The sadistic one looked itself over before sighing.

"You always were one to make a mess…"

It loaded the scalpel into the bag and walked into the mass of energy in front of it. A loud whoosh was heard as it caved in on itself in a burst of light. The shield fell, leaving only a bloody mess with only one thing near the center. Blood still slivered out of the stomach of it, staining its clothing red. Almost everyone grimaced at the sight. The Elements of Harmony slowly approached it. It lifted itself up for a moment before collapsing with a thud. At that point all of them rushed over to it.

"Twilight Sparkle, please make way for us."

They all turned to see the Princesses behind them, looking weak and hurt from their previous battle. They moved out of the way, not sure what was about to happen.

"Sister, are you fit enough to do this?"

"Yes, Luna. Please, this is going to be hard even with both of us as is. Twilight Sparkle, will you and the Element of Generosity assist us in healing this creature?"

"Of course, Your Majesty."

Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Twilight Sparkle and Rarity all sat around the creature, horns glowing.

* * *

><p>He could hear himself breathing. That meant one of two things: he was alive and they had captured him, or he had died and was removed from the reconstruction chamber. He felt enormous pain as he tried moving to test himself. He must have been knocked out cold from blood loss and captured. Maybe they healed him, and let him live. The pain was still unbearable though.<p>

After a few minutes, he tried to force his eyes open. It didn't work the first time, but he eventually was able to get them open enough to see where he was. It appeared that he was in a sort of lavish suite in some swanky hotel. He was in a bed, tied down with ropes, chains, and locks. He was being held like he was in prison. That's where he was. Prison.

He could feel pain in his abdomen, as it shot up all around him. It was a mix of the pain from being slashed, gutted, and stabbed multiple times, and the pain of hunger. He must have been out for days most likely, and he probably didn't eat anything at all. It must have been a hell of a coma.

He looked around the room, taking in the sight. The bed cover was red and warming, the room was an interesting tannish color, and the windows let in plenty of sunshine, lighting up the whole room. He almost felt at peace, but the near-death experience was still fresh in his mind. He almost wished he had died, at least that way he would have been reconstructed and not a prisoner.

While taking it all in, he heard what sounded like footsteps from down a hall. They were light at first, and barely noticeable, but it was placid enough to hear just about anything. He wasn't sure what to do at this point; really, what could Rick do?

Eventually, the footsteps got closer and he could tell whoever it was, they were right outside the door. He couldn't tell how many were there, but it sounded like a lot from the noise. The door opened slightly, not making much noise. He could see an eye staring at him as he lifted his head to look. The eye widened and the door opened up fully.

He saw quite a lot of ponies ahead of him. The first were the two Princesses, followed by those six from earlier, and a few guards, each with some kind of scar, scratch, bruise, bandage, and gauze on it. They didn't seem to hold a grudge however, as they kept a straight poker-faces. That seemed to be it. No one else came in.

He looked at each of them, studying their features before making eye contact and moving onto the next. Some became uneasy, but he soon finished. He now stared at the large, white pony with the multicolored mane. She didn't have a face of scorn or hatred on, in fact, it looked quite benevolent. He felt some mental weight lift off of his shoulders. It decided to speak to him, in a kind, soothing voice.

"Hello."

"Hey."

"How are you feeling? Do the scars from that scalpel still hurt?" There was an actually caring tone to her voice.

"It hurts pretty bad, but I can deal with it."

"Oh my, I'll try to alleviate it."

It walked towards him and laid a horn towards his abdomen, making it glow. He soon felt the pain wash away from him, as he relaxed a bit.

"Better?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

"I'm glad. Now please, I'd like to introduce you to everyone."

Rick gave a skeptical look and raised a brow.

It laughed, "Is something wrong?"

"Where I'm from, introducing a person to something usually meant that they were going to either end up half-dead, or just dead. I think you can understand why I'm not exactly looking forward to that."

She gave a shocked face, "My! That's horrible! But please, trust us, we don't mean to harm you."

Rick scoffed at that, "Fine, go on."

"Thank you. Would you please, Twilight Sparkle?"

"Of course, Your Majesty. This is Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack. I'm Twilight Sparkle, and these are Princess Luna and Princess Celestia, rulers of Equestria."

Rick sighed, "Ok, you've introduced yourselves."

"Yes, now please, what is _your _name?"

All of those ponies noticed him flinch at that, before losing some tenseness, "Rick. My name is Rick."

"Rick? What an odd name… Is that all to it?"

"No, but that's all you need to know."

A guard moved towards him and hit his abdomen, "Don't talk to Her Majesty like that, Criminal Scum!"

"Guard! Move away from him immediately! Return to your post!"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Rick tried curling up from his pain, but the restraints were too solidly attached to him. This "Princess Celestia" moved her horn back to give him another dose of pain relief.

"I'm sorry about that, but colts will be colts… As I was saying, do you have another part to your name?"

"Yes, but I can't tell you it."

"Why is that?"

"It's classified."

She openly laughed at that, as he stared at her having her fun. He would have crossed his arms if he could.

"I'm sorry, but that was one of the funniest things I've heard in quite a long time. I won't prod anymore if that's what you would like."

"Thanks…"

Her face grew more solemn, and she soon asked, "We'd like to know why you've been terrorizing the town of Ponyville as of late. Please, we must know."

"It was exactly what Trixie had said; I've just been trying to survive."

"At the cost of us, our homes, and innocent animals?"

"I needed stuff from you, what I did to your homes was an accident, and I'm omnivorous."

"You could have simply asked for any items."

"After forcing your sister out of her own castle? I would have been killed on the spot."

She had been taken aback by that.

"Why would you assume that we would do such a barbaric thing?"

"She has a grudge against me. Even after I saved her."

They both looked at Princess Luna, who was hoofing the floor while keeping her head down. They looked back at each other.

"I'm sorry for her behavior, she's easily excitable. Now please, tell me why you attacked Ponyville and its inhabitants."

"When I was in the forest, a zebra threw drug into my face, the same that allowed a single man to kill hundreds on a series of small islands. It's dangerous, so much that all traces of it were destroyed. Rumor has it that some governments still have some samples, but it's debatable. That drug forced me to be just like that same man, a primeval predator. It put me in a fit of rage, making me attack your town."

'Twilight Sparkle', he thinks that was her name was, spoke up.

"But our spells couldn't affect you. Why?"

"Side effect from the Manticore skull, the drug, and the horn. It literally made me its ghostly spirit."

"Interesting. How exactly do you use magic?"

"I _had_ magic, but it was taken away. You all saw what happened."

There was an awkward tension in the room as everyone looked back on what had happened a few days ago.

"Who were those two other creatures that appeared before you?" Princess Celestia asked soothingly to relieve the tension.

"One was an old friend; the other was an ex-old friend."

"Interesting. Rick, may I ask what kind of creature are you?"

He sighed, "I'm a human, of course."

"A human? I've never heard of a human before."

"That's because I'm from a different planet."

There was that awkward tension again. Some of the ponies in the room had large eyes, some had twitching eyes, and some had jaws that were hanging. Most had a combination of all three.

"I'm sorry; I don't think I heard you right…"

He was getting annoyed, and he decided that he would give a shortened and quick recap of recent events.

"I'm from another planet, called Earth. Seeing as though I'm never going to be able to go back there, I might as well tell you what happened. I was sent to the Moon from Earth, where I would lay down some of the foundations for a colony. It was the biggest achievement we would have done to date. But something went wrong when I got close enough. Gravitational anomalies hit my shuttle I don't know how many times. That threw me off course and straight into a crater on the dark side of the Moon."

He checked to see if they were still listening. They still had those same faces from earlier.

"Anyway… When I woke up, I realized I hadn't been sucked out into space and killed. There was an atmosphere to the Moon, which shouldn't exist. I fixed a hole in my shuttle and saw I was on the light side of the Moon. That couldn't have made sense, but when I finished fixing the hole, I saw something slither around over the edge of the crater I was in. So after looking for a weapon, I chased after it. I saw a dark version of you," he pointed to Princess Celestia, "fighting her," he pointed to Princess Luna, "and when she was knocked out, I made my move and attacked. I think her name was Nightmare Moon."

"So after her pulling some kind of weird monster from her horn and me ripping that shit to pieces, she stabbed me in the heart. I used that opportunity that to cripple her wings with my wrench and then break off her horn. I've kept it since. Then your sister stabbed me in the heart when I had my back turned. She left me for dead as she just flew off."

Some looks were given to Luna.

He had to lie about this part, "I managed to stay alive long enough for me to heal myself. When I was fully healed, it got my shuttle upwards and flew back to what I thought was Earth. I ended up crashing into a castle in the middle of the night. It really sucked ass when I figured out I wasn't on Earth. From then, I've been trying to live in the forest's castle. I think you know what's happened since then."

Everyone looked stunned at him, not sure if he had been serious.

"Pretty goddamn amazing story, huh?"

The pony named Pinkie Pie spoke, "See? I told you he was from another planet!"

"Yeah, it's a pretty decent place."

"Amazing… Simply amazing… How exactly did those other 'humans' get here?" Princess Celestia asked in awe.

"I have no clue. Tobias should be dead, and Aden should be back on Earth."

The rainbow colored pony stood in confusion, "Wait, what does umnovris mean?"

"I'll tell you if you tell me why you have wings, they have horns, and they have both."

She put a leg forward and lowered a hoof, as if dismissing the question.

"That's _easy._ Me and Fluttershy are Pegasi, Twilight and Rarity are Unicorns, Pinkie and Applejack are Earth Ponies, and the Princesses are Alicorns."

Rick looked straight at her with a serious face. "Those are all mythological animals. Those others don't exist."

"What? We're right here! See? Maybe you don't have ponies on _your planet_, but we got plenty here!"

"No, we have ponies. But we usually treat them like any other animal."

She gasped at this, and soon got angry.

"Who you callin' an animal, Bub? Because we're not _animals!_"

"On my planet, you are. You're just a smaller breed of horses, usually bred for show or something. I haven't seen a pony in years, but you all seem to be _way_ different from the general idea of you all being small horses without any kind of sentience."

"What? Are you serious? Can they at least fly or use magic?"

"If unicorns and pegasi _existed_, they'd most likely extinct by now. And before you ask, ponies can't speak either."

She looked at him in disbelief, "You can't be serious! I don't want to go extinct!"

"Ugh, calm down. This planet is different than mine; I doubt you'll go extinct, seeing as you're all actually sentient."

Princess Celestia nodded, "Thank you for the compliment. Your world sounds very interesting, maybe we could discuss it later. But there is one thing I must know."

"What?"

"In your sleep, you kept repeating random phrases. You seemed to be particularly hanging on one. Anyone could feel the anger, the regret, and the sadness from when you sleep talked about it."

He grew suspicious, "What phrase are you talking about?"

"You spoke of something called 'Jenine'."

All the color left Rick's face as it slowly fell to his chest. It would be noticeable even to someone who was half-blind. He let out a sound of disgust and anger.

"I'm sorry if I said something wrong, but you also did bring up other things, but with less feeling to them. Please, I'd like to know why you were so emotional over that phrase, if you don't mind."

He didn't speak for a moment, before looking back at them with a morbid face, complete with a large scowl and angry eyes.

"Why would I be mad? You only brought up the thing that gives me nightmares every night and every time I try to sleep. You only brought up the worst day of my life. You only, GODDAMN, BROUGHT UP THE DAY I WISH HAD NEVER HAPPENED!"

Everyone was caught off-guard by this reaction. It was silent except for his huffing and muttering.

"I'm sorry for bringing it up… Please forgive me…"

He sighed and tried to calm down, "Do you know _why_ I'm so angry and spiteful? Because the only people I could ever trust were killed before my eyes. I can never, _ever,_ forgive myself for what happened, and what I'd done… I'm living a goddamn curse! People die all around me, and yet I somehow manage to stay alive! I can never understand why or how this shit works, but it's the third biggest thing I regret in my life."

Everyone was silent again.

"None of you, absolutely _NONE_ of you can understand what I've been through. Where I'm from, we don't have these little happy sunshiny days where we bullshit around and play! We goddamn have to risk our lives almost every moment! We barely get breaks, and when we do, we're most likely stuck in a compound being monitored!"

He turned away for a brief moment. He looked back at their faces.

"I had to _kill_ one of my best friends when he was in my arms… I watched hundreds of people die for no good goddamn reason! Only one thing good ever came from that day, and that was Aden. Because we could relate so well, we managed to keep each other _sane._ Every day was another day considering suicide or going on a killing spree. So don't you goddamn even _THINK_ that you could relate to my life, because I know you can't! You all live in your perfect world where the worst that'll happen is the occasional minor monster coming to town! I hate how you all take it for granted, I absolutely _HATE_ it! You don't even realize that you're living in a paradise! People on Earth would _kill_ other humans to be able to come here! Honestly, I can't understand it…"

Everypony looked at him, he had their entire attention. Everypony had a mix of different feelings about this: disgust, anger, relief, confusion, and many others. And they just gawked at him, not saying anything,

"… What? Did I give you too much of the _medicine that's my life?_ Take it in, maybe it'll give you a slap of rea-"

"We're sorry. We are all honestly and truly sorry for what has happened to you."

Rick was calming down from his tirade, and glad he finally got that off his chest. The only other person that could ever feel what he felt was Aden, and he was able to get over it before Rick. He gave a few deep breaths to calm himself down.

"It's fine."

"Please forgive me for bringing it up, I didn't know that you had such a troubled past."

"Troubled is an understatement."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"If you don't want to talk anymore, that's fine, I'll just have someone feed you and we'll be on our way."

He was silent for a few moments.

"Do you want to hear it?" he asked solemnly.

"Hear what?" she asked with a piqued interest.

"The story about the worst fucking day of my life."

* * *

><p>I don't why this chapter took so long. It shouldn't have, but oh well. Anyway, this chapter was meant to give Rick the shut down he deserved. He was getting a bit too arrogant and coddled, which meant that something needed to bring him down a bit. Also, to clarify, Aden (he's a friendco-worker of Rick from earlier chapters) didn't just appear as a ghost or something stupid like that. What I didn't want to include just yet (I'm going to here, because I'd hate to confuse people as to why an old character suddenly came back out of no where) was that Aden had been using a weak form of teleportation technology. He couldn't fully form his body, but he was still able to deliver a message.

If it hasn't become obvious at this point, Tobias has been a traitor to Rick the whole time, while being Hadrian's patsy. They won't be really included in the next chapter, seeing as though the whole thing will be a flashback to the worst day of Rick's life. Expect some new characters to show up, while they tackle a very bad situation. I guess that's it for now. Stay trilla.


	11. Chapter 11

**Stasis**

**Chapter 11: My Little Hell on Earth**

**By: Stillmatic**

* * *

><p>"Yes, I would like to beat the shit out of you. How did you know?"<p>

"Yeah, ight bitch! Hah, damn you're sensitive as hell!"

"Tyrone, how about you shut the fuck up. Honestly! I've never heard someone talk so fuckin' much on the goddamn ride to a mission! How your dumb ass ended up on this bird will _always_ be beyond my comprehension."

"Ahem, excuse me, but you appear to be quite angered."

"Whatever."

"So… Aden."

"Yeah Jenine?"

"You never exactly told us why you joined TTG. It's fine if you don't want to tell us, but you are the new guy."

"Well, it was either this, or in front of a firing squad at night. I think you guys know which I chose."

"A firing squad huh? I think Tyrone had the same thing lined up for him back home. Luckily, I came into the situation and saved his sorry ass."

"Listen Billy-boy, it wasn't a firing squad, it was dealers trying to muscle in on my turf and shit. There's a difference. Those bitches didn't know who the fuck I was! They didn't know I was Goontacular!"

"Don't give me that 'Goontacular' shit, that career of yours is _over_! You're just lucky I had them alllllllll lined up! One bullet, four kills. Superb, if I do say so myself."

"Whatever bitch. I had that shit taken care of."

"Didn't seem like it. I saw you with 4 guns pointed at your sorr-"

"STOP! For God's sake, don't either of you shut up? I swear, it's like they put you both on this team to annoy the shit out of me."

"YEAH BOSS! GUN HIM!"

"Shut up Tyrone. Billy, you know how excitable he is, just don't let him get to you."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it all taken care of Jethro."

"Fine, just watch it. Everyone, look here. This is Shephard's Island. Not very Finnish in my opinion, but that doesn't matter, we're here for three reasons. Anyone can guess what they are? Rick?"

"Terrorists?"

"No. Jenine?"

"Defectors?"

"No. Billy?"

"Damn, I don't know. Military cover-up?"

"Close. Tyrone?"

"Aliens and shit?"

"Not exactly… Aden, you've been talking with the boys back at the Agency. I assume you know what's going on here?"

"I've heard rumors. Apparently, there's some kind of outbreak or something. It's turning civilians against each other and forcing them to kill one another. Seems like something from a movie or comic-book or something. And yeah, we have to do a cover-up."

"Right. There's an outbreak on Shephard's Island, and we have three objectives. First, secure as many remaining survivors as possible. Second, retrieve all information from the main facility onto a drive. Lastly, we kill all hostiles. This is serious guys, these things are infectious, one small transfer of DNA, and you're a shambling bag of meat soon to be full of bullet holes. Got that?"

"Quick question."

"Rick?"

"What are we fighting? Sounds like zombies or some shit."

"I guess you could call them that. But they aren't stupid. These things are mutating quickly, and they have some kind of hivemind somewhere on the island that's in control. We don't need to worry about chasing that down though; this place won't even be on the face of the Earth after this mission. Just remember, no touching, and no running off. Anything else?"

"And remember my motto guys: Every mission should start with a smile! We are the best of the best, and our country needs us! So let's go and give it our best!"

"Jesus, Rick, stop being such a dickriding patriot. Get that goddamn smirk off your face! Honestly, one day, something's going to go wrong on a mission and you're not going to be seeing shit the same way again. Fuckin' remember that we're considered expendable."

"Damn, chill! I was just trying to lighten the mood."

"Ok, listen up, all of you. We're going to reach the LZ in a minute, get your gear together and get ready to move out."

* * *

><p>It was dusk as the Osprey touched down near in an abandoned parking lot outside of town. Flames and smoke were seen coming from various buildings in the distance, and gunfire and screams could be heard not far from them. As they unloaded themselves from the Osprey, they took in the scene of carnage.<p>

"Are we late to the party?" Billy asked playfully.

Billy moved over to a light post and leaned against it, as he examined their surroundings. He took out a pair of binoculars and surveyed the tree line. No places he could climb to get a better view. He sighed and moved farther to a better point as his teammates began loading their weapons and running various suit tests. He moved closer to the edge of a nearby cluster of trees that separated the parking lot from its office building.

He could see that there was a roof access to the top of the building, which made him somewhat happy. At least he could actually put a use to his sniper. He heard the snapping of branches nearby, but dismissed them as Rick and Tyrone playing their occasional game of throwing rocks at each other to knock the other out of trees. Still, something in the back of his mind told that something was wrong.

He felt as though he finished scoping the area out and proceeded to pull his binoculars away. As soon as he did so however, he saw a most disgusting sight in front of him. He jumped back as the creature in front of him jumped at him in a jerky fashion. It was human, at least at one point, and it gave a low groan as it knocked Billy to the floor. It leaned against the struggling Billy, trying to get close enough to bite his face off.

Billy, using his arms to hold it back, yelled out.

"HEY! GET THIS FUCKING THING OFF OF ME!"

Everyone looked toward Billy on the floor, with some human on top of him trying to get in close. It almost looked like it was trying to kiss an unwilling participant. Before any of the team could react, Tyrone was already running up to the creature bare-handed. He closed in and did a football kick straight to the nose of the creature. He used enough force to not only knock it off of Billy, but to rip its nose off, sending it flying into the air and landing straight onto Billy's chest.

"Ew, ew, ew, ah shit!"

He smacked the nose off while backpedaling from the floor and looked at Tyrone, who was preparing a jump. Tyrone then did something between a jump and a side-hop, and landed right on the neck of the creature. It shrieked as his body weight literally ripped the neck and severed the spine with a nice tearing sound.

"You should get better at hop-scotch bitch! Dayyyyuuuuummm! You saw the way I fucked him up? That shit was IGHT!"

Billy got up and moved to Tyrone.

"I had it covered."

"That's why you were screaming like a little girl right?"

"Shut up you meatheaded gun jockey."

"Campers, all you guys do when something gets close is panic."

Billy sighed and shook his head as he walked back to his teammates. He looked up to see Rick and Jenine snickering at his scene. The team's commander, Jethro, shook his head as he laid his hand on his face.

"Excuse me, but if you're all done acting like little girls, no offense Jenine, can we continue our mission? We don't have forever."

Aden looked over to him as he lifted his HUD goggles onto the top of his head.

"What exactly are we supposed to do first?"

"Well, first we have to make our way to the central compound's R&D laboratories, and make a backup of all the information we can find. If we happen to see survivors on the way, we take them with us. If they're infected, we dispose of them quickly. Like I said earlier, we should kill _all_ hostiles we see, even if they're not infected. The security teams will probably think we're a cleanup crew, so try not to excite them. We don't need to worry about every creature or zombie on this island, that's what the strikes are going to be for. Now," Jethro turned towards the city in the distance, "seeing as though we didn't get dropped off very closely, someone go see if they can find us a car."

* * *

><p>The team had been traveling for at least five minutes before they were forced to abandon the minivan they hot-wired. They at least got near the cities entrance, but to no one's surprise, it was barricaded. Jethro got out from the driver's seat and examined the large metal gate blocking their entrance.<p>

"Well, we'll just have to either open it or find a way around."

Aden spoke up, "Boss, if that thing that attacked Billy was able to be out here, that means that somewhere, there's a hole that we can get through."

"Good thinking, kid. Let's circle the walls until we find someplace to go through."

Jethro got back into the minivan and closed the door. He turned the key and started the car, following the walls of the city with it. After a minute of driving, they neared what seemed to be a pretty interesting scene.

Standing on top of Mac Truck that was flipped onto its side, was a man in a lab coat, a red zigzag tie, brown pants, black shoes, and a Kevlar vest obviously too large for him. His clothing was tattered, and he was covered in various wounds and scratches, with the rare bite mark making appearances across his arms. He seemed like some kind of apocalyptic survivor.

He could obviously take care of himself pretty well, seeing as though not only was he not infected despite his wounds, but was still _alive_. This was impressive, seeing as though a thick horde of zombies (at least, that's what _they_ called them) was surrounding the truck, climbing up slowly towards the meal.

However, this man would not be so easily eaten, as he managed to repulse them with a lot of effort on his part. He held in his right hand what looked like a standard issue security officer's handgun. He most likely pick-pocketed it off of the same body he took the vest from. On his back was a small sub-machine gun strapped to him. In his left hand was a large metal pipe dented in various places and coated with blood.

His face was oddly different from the rest of his body. It was clean shaven, and did not look in the least bit sickly. His eyes however, showed that he must have not slept in over a day at least. He kept a constant gritted frown, only changing it to spew any blood caught in his mouth out. His hair was short, almost military style, and it was slightly red, most likely with the blood of the creatures.

Persistent. That was the main word to describe this man. He obviously has been fighting for his life for the past few hours, but he showed no signs of giving up. The team watched as he kicked a zombie off the ledge of the truck, while using a spin to turn into a pimp-smack on an approaching zombie with the pipe. He stabbed another in the throat with the pipe and used his pistol to fire off a round in the head, before using his foot to dislodge the pipe, while the zombie fell back and knocked down others in its way.

"Holy shit… A one man army," Billy said as he took of his Stetson. He rubbed at his head for a few moments watching as the man a hundred feet away fought for his life.

Jethro spoke up, "Alright listen, that's a civie, and we've got orders to try and bring as many of them back as possible. From the looks of it, he knows his shit, and he's probably a scientist from inside the facility. Now, let's help him out just a little bit."

With that, he drove the minivan closer to the scene and stopped. It seems that the creatures were pretty focused on the scientist, because not a single one gave attention to them rolling up closer.

"Tyrone."

"Yeah, Boss?"

"Clean this up."

"Mmm, don't you guys just love chores?"

Tyrone opened the door on his right and exited the minivan, and started climbing on top of it. Grabbing his miniature mini-gun, he stood on the roof of the car and revved it up. Taking a moment, it slowly started firing bullets. The speed soon increased dramatically, volleying bullets in a fine spray of depleted uranium at the crowd in front of him.

"God! Where did he even get that thing? That looks like it goes on a plane or something!" Jenine said, covering her ears.

"Well, actually, I think that came off that one prototype UAV that went missing a few months ago. How he got it, I don't even want to know," Aden remarked.

"Trust me on this shit, you shouldn't put it past him," Rick added.

"What?"

"Who do you think made that UAV go missing?" Rick smiled, and started laughing.

"What are you serious? He can't do that, that's government property!"

Rick stopped and looked at Aden with a blank face. He then started laughing even harder. Aden shook his head and turned away. Jenine tapped him on the shoulder.

"Don't let them get to you. It'll take a while to develop a taste to their jokes, or even understand half of them, but they're only being hard on you because you're the new guy."

"Thanks; at least someone here other than Jethro is sane."

Rick stopped and looked at the both of them before raising a brow. A look of intrigue crossed his face, but he suddenly turned when he noticed that there was no sound of gunfire anymore. He looked outside and saw that there was decimation and blood everywhere around the truck. It seems the single-mindedness of the creatures cost them their lives.

Billy got out of the car and slapped the hood.

"Woo-wee, you've completely liquefied them!"

"Thanks, I try," Tyrone chuckled.

They both looked up and saw the scientist staring incredulously at them and the van. Rick rolled down his window and put his arm on it casually.

"What's up?"

"Who the hell are you guys? You're not some Black Ops clean-up crew are you?"

Everyone except for Aden, Jenine, and Jethro laughed loudly at the scientist. They each had the same reaction of hitting something near them as they covered their faces that soon became red. Billy, after laughing so hard, wiped a few tears from his eyes and spoke.

"Nah, nah, we came to grab any survivors an-"

Tyrone finished for him, "Dip the fuck outta here."

"Both of you shut up. So, we see that you're a survivor of the outbreak. We've been given orders to collect as many survivors as possible and lead them to an LZ. If you'd like to leave this hell-hole, you might want to come with us," Jethro coaxed.

The scientist gave an distrustful look as he rubbed his chin.

"What's the catch? You force me to sign a contract to silence me or something? You take me to behind a building and execute me?"

Everyone gave each other weird looks, and then looked back.

"We tend to not actually do that. But if you want to tag along, you're going to have to come with us and help us find some things."

"Like what exactly?"

"Survivors and wherever we can find all of the island's information in one place."

"Yeah… Fine, I know where we can go for that last one, but there aren't many people left here."

"Really? I would have thought the security forces would have survived this long at least."

The scientist spat at the floor from atop the truck.

"They were arrogant; they thought they could fight these, these _things_ easily. I doubt any one of the regular ones survived their valiant 'defense'. Nonetheless, there are definitely other survivors. I hear gunfire constantly, and some of the more 'experienced' officers probably are either finding an escape or fighting the infected back."

"Fighting back? Are they seriously suicidal?"

"Look at you! You're here, and what, you're a group of six? These guys are trained heavily, and there are a few dozen of them at least. Don't underestimate them, they aren't the average soldiers. Maybe the normal security forces have been wiped out, but these guys," he shook his head, "these guys are tough."

"Would they try to attack us?"

"That I don't know. They might have gone rogue for all I know. It would be best if you avoided them."

"Shit… Well, how can we get to the main facility? Our intel says it underground."

"No, parts of it are above ground, but the area you're looking for, the information collective, is in a relatively deep part of the facility. Not too far from where experiments took place. Like experiments in bio-weapons…"

"Ok, now here's the question, are you coming with us?"

"Depends, are you going to backstab me?"

"No, are you going to backstab us?"

"No."

"Then let's go."

* * *

><p>Not far where they found the scientist, a certain Arne Keller, was a hole in the wall of the town. Surprising as it was that something could have broken through the metal and the concrete, no one questioned the luck that would end this mission quicker. At least they didn't need to scale the wall.<p>

Driving through was easy, despite all the debris in the way. But by some kind of luck, as soon as they managed to reach past the walls, a loud pop was heard. They all looked at each other, and noticed that one corner of the car was leaning slightly lower.

Tyrone rubbed his palm against his cheek, "Shit, looks like we're going to have to walk. So, uh, Keller, how many of those things are there?"

The scientist turned to face him, "Well, this island didn't exactly have a normal population. It was more like a place for us to do our work, but we did need some civilians to do the basic things like operate a town as a guise. The population, not counting any employees, was roughly less than 1,000 people. That's including adults, the elderly, and children." He let out a sound of disgust. "You should have seen what they became. Disgusting. What we did was unforgivable, and these innocent souls were the ones who had to pay the price…"

Jethro kept a straight face, "Arne, we can't focus on that now. We have to get everyone that's still alive and the information. But, for curiosity's sake… What exactly did they turn into?"

"Oh lord, it was horrible. The way they mutated, it was horrific! Children became these, these _things_ that leaped around and attacked anyone close to death. They used their teeth to dig into your back and rip out your spine! I've seen them do it to my colleagues, and the way they scream as it happened…" He shook his head while giving off a sound of disgust. "Adults became these freaks with different holes and spikes and other mutations. Some had armored shells, some even could dig underground. They were able to change and mutate the most, for whatever reason. Now the elderly, those were the oddest. They don't attack; they just either sit together, or walk in an aimless mob. They seem to speak to each other, and they have such calm 'personalities'. But I'll be damned if they aren't dangerous. If a single one is attacked, they all howl at such intensity that anyone within miles of them would hear. After that, they all rush at the offender and swarm whoever was stupid enough to attack. That person is then tore to bits and most likely eaten."

Tyrone's eyes were wide, "The fuck…"

"That's a lot of survivors' reactions to this situation. They have a hive mind, but they also have a society like system in place. Most of the time, different variants will avoid each other. Unless of course, they decide to band together to kill a common enemy. And they will do it; I've seen them do all the things I've told you and more. They're cruel, morality-deprived killing machines. They'll even turn on each other half the time."

Everyone was silent for a few moments, letting what they heard sink in. Rick looked over to Aden and saw a solemn face, and then looked to Jenine to see one of disgust.

She scowled, "How can you people do these kinds of things? Innocent people are dying because of you!"

Suddenly, Keller grew angry and shouted, "Do you think we wanted this to happen? The advances we would have made from this research would have propelled us into a whole new age of medicine and science! We would finally be able to tackle diseases no one could even treat, let alone cure! So don't goddamn tell me that we're to blame for this! All we've done is the corporation's work, nothing else! It was not our fault these things became sentient! It was not our fault it lead to an outbreak! There were safe guards in place! We had a contingency plan! AND NOTHING WORKED! WHY DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND THAT NO MATTER WHAT, THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED ANYWAY?"

Jenine was taken aback, and then looked down in shame. Rick took notice to the tirade against his sister, even if it wasn't really directed at her. He pushed Keller from where he was, knocking him forward.

"Don't fuckin' talk to my sister like that you piece of shit!"

Keller flipped around and held a pistol to Rick's forehead.

"You just don't understand do you? All of you military types are all. The. Fucking. Same. You just don't understand the possibilities, the things we could have done. All you ever see is the problem, and then you go after the person who created it, even if it was an accident. You all disgust me, all of you. You uneducated pieces of trash will never amount to anything more than your little squads and ranks, while people like me and the other scientists will have to push humanity forward and to a better age. The whole world would be better off without you."

He pulled the gun back and holstered it. He opened the door and left the car, walking away. Aden felt worried about this; how could some scientist be able to survive on his own in the epicenter of a miniature Armageddon?

"Wait! You can't go on alone!"

Keller turned back to Aden, "You should give me more credit than _that._ Do you think I was with other survivors this whole time? Well, anyway, you're all on your own now. I'm finding a way out of this hell-hole."

He turned back around and walked over to a small store, surveying the insides. He lifted a piece of debris from the door way and walked in, gun forward. They watched as they could hear random sounds of gunfire in the distance, but what caught their attention were the sounds of things moving around in the store. Before they knew it, gunfire could be heard from inside the store, followed by alien screaming and other sounds.

Everyone grew tense for a moment, but were soon surprised when they saw Keller dive out of a window, breaking it in the process. He landed feet first and stumbled forward, turning to the creatures coming out of the store. There must have been at least five creatures coming at him, slowly limping towards their intended meal.

Keller, however, decided that he'd put a few bullets in one of their heads. With one down, he focused on the next coming to him. He shot its knees out and curb stomped its head in. He holstered his pistol and retrieved his lead pipe. He smacked the closest creature on the head, followed by a stab to the heart. The pipe was unintentionally stuck inside the body, but Keller decided to leave it behind. The creature, however, wasn't dead yet.

Out of nowhere, one of the creatures managed to sneak behind him and grab him, holding him in an inhuman grasp of strength. He struggled to break free as the two other zombies closed in, arms reaching out to gouge out Keller's throat. But by some miracle, Keller was able to use the creature's lack of balance to his advantage, flipping it over him and onto the other zombies. He reached into his lab coat and retrieved two items, a can of aerosol and a metal lighter.

He held them in front of him and let loose a make-shift flamethrower onto the creatures sprawling on the floor. Screams and groans could be heard as they withered and burnt into black moving forms. He pulled out his pistol and finished off each of them with a parting gift of one bullet each to their heads.

He holstered his pistol and moved to the charred remains of one zombie. He kicked it, then grabbed for the pipe stuck in its chest. He instantly recoiled, grabbing at his hand.

"Oooh, hot."

He moved his hand in the air in order to cool, and then reached into his coat again. This time, he pulled out a large, brown glove. He slipped it on and grabbed the pipe easily, this time with no flinching. He kept it on and walked off, away from the scene he had played out. He walked away from the minivan, and then turned a corner and into an alleyway. This time, he didn't come back out.

Everyone in the minivan was confused, impressed, and a bit disgruntled at one man fighting off five creatures like it was nothing. He was some kind of scientist survivalist, and he could easily show his skill at being one. Billy took off his hat and rubbed at the top of his head.

"Goddamn… Did you see that? If those things were as deadly as he made them to be, how come he took care of them so easily?"

Tyrone started laughing, "Because he's _gangsta_, that's why!"

Billy sighed while shaking his head, "Yeah, I'll give him that. He's a good fighter for an egghead."

"Ok, ok, enough. Yes, what he did was impressive, but now we don't have a guide to the facility. Now we're going to have to find someone else to help us." He looked around and got out of the now useless minivan. He took notice to a structure not very far from where they were. It looked like a church, not only just down the street, but surrounded by mutants. The only reason they would be there is because someone must be holing up in there.

"There's probably someone hiding out over there, but we're going to have to clear the way. Maybe they won't fight back, like last time. Let's move out."

The team exited the minivan and headed down the long street. In the time it took them to arrive at the church, which was a few minutes, they had run into no mutants at all. It seemed like every one of them had converged at the church. As they got closer, it became more and more apparent at how big this horde actually was. It was at least five times larger than the one near the Mac Truck, and these actually consisted of different variants this time. They were all disgusting, and they all had that dirty mix of tan, gray, black, and other colors on them. Some were larger, some were smaller than a dog, but all of them had that vicious look to them. A few them had large scythe like arms, while some had spiked or horned heads. There was even the occasional winged one with a pair of large jaws protruding from their heads.

All in all, these things were sickening to look at. No single one matched another; each was unique in its own way or mutation. No matter how you put it, these things were vile. And it was this team's job to get rid of them.

"Ok, Rick, you're on point, get your gear ready. Tyrone, cut them down quick. Billy, watch the skies for anything that might drop in, and give some cover to Tyrone when you can. Jenine, be ready to bandage someone up, and make sure nothing sneaks up on us. Aden, you're with her, keep our backs guarded. I'll prove fire, and we should be able to finish this quick. Everyone know what they're doing?"

A few from the team nodded.

"Good, let's hurry and get this done. Move out."

They reached the horde, and the team fell into position. Rick popped out his forearm PDA and hit a few buttons. Within a moment, a see-through material emerged from his left forearm. It spread upwards and downwards, forming what was a portable riot shield. As he held the shield in his left hand, he reached to his belt and pulled out a large machete. This was a tactic he heard that was used back by Russian G.R.U. riot forces back when there was a "Soviet Union", whatever that was.

Tyrone moved forward, next to Rick. He laid down a tripod and mounted his mini-gun. He double-checked it, and then loaded it. He waited for the signal on when to fire, ready to tear down all that came their way. Billy climbed and perched himself on a low fire escape on the right side of the street, as he removed his sniper rifle from his back. He flicked up the cover on the scope and was greeted by a picture of his late parents. For some reason, seeing them always motivated him to take better shots when they came by.

Both Aden and Jenine stopped roughly ten feet back from where the rest of the team was, and guarded their backs. Aden checked his shotgun thoroughly and made sure there was no likely chance of a problem occurring. Jenine loaded her SMG and checked her first-aid kits to make sure she hadn't lost any supplies on the way. The leader, Jethro, stood between where Tyrone was, and where Billy was sniping from. He loaded a grenade into the launcher under his assault rifle, and flicked off the safety.

"Ok, everyone ready?"

Billy, Tyrone, and Rick whooped and cheered, ready to fight these so-called "killing-machines".

"Alright, Tyrone, open fire… NOW!"

With a hearty laughter, Tyrone spun up his minigun and flung bullets in a large cone at the creatures. The more original ones took notice instantly, while the less mutated simply continued mauling at the entrance of the church. They all lurched towards the six and some were able to get relatively close despite the heavy fire on them. The larger ones were the first that Tyrone fired on, and it was a wise decision, because if he hadn't they would have smashed their way through and crushed each team member into a fine red pulp with the occasional hard, white chunk.

Rick made use of his shield and kept back any lighter creatures easily. A nice execution was all that was needed to make a riot shield smash and knock down a group of zombies. And with his machete, he could cut his way out if they got too close, which happened frequently. Limbs were flying, heads were in the air, and anything on the floor was stomped and smashed in Rick's way. And throughout all of this, he was laughing as if he heard something pretty damn funny.

Both Aden and Jenine had practically nothing come their way, which only evidenced that most of the new inhabitants of this area of town had arrived to attack a church of all things. They turned and gave the occasional bullet to a mutant closing in. Other than that, they weren't required for anything at the moment.

Billy, like some of the other members of his team, was having a hell of a time. He took his time lining up perfect shows that massacred a row of zombies at once. He was mentally keeping track of a few things such as his highest amount of kills with a single bullet, how many kills he had gotten, and how many zombies he had stopped from grabbing at Rick. For Billy, it was not only fun to take pot-shots at slow and disgusting creatures, but it was also exhilarating to the point he was really enjoying himself.

Within a few minutes of blood, bodies, and other bodily fluids flying all across the small killing field, the wave had been thinned out to only a few dozen left. That was nothing compared to the hundreds of bodies strewn across the street in front of them. There were so many bodies that there were practically stacked into makeshift walls. Piles and piles littered the street, and the remaining living mutants went into a frenzy at the sight of so many dead.

It soon became harder to finish off the remaining mutants, as now they were enraged enough to ignore some bullets. Still, none got close enough to lay a hand on any member of the team. The team was thankful for that; it wasn't very often when something goes as smoothly as this was going.

At this point, only a few zombies remained, and Rick took it upon himself to finish them all off with his machete. It was risky and stupid, but he just couldn't help trying to add to his fun. As he chopped the head off the last mutant, he put his machete in the air and laughed maniacally, garnering odd looks from Aden, Jenine, and Jethro. He turned to look at his teammates, and spoke.

"I gotta say, that shit was off the hook. I'm surprised that I managed to actually cut them up so easily."

Tyrone smacked him on the back, knocking some air out. "You did good man, but not as good as me. I tore their asses up and down this street! Playing hardball and shit right here!"

Billy, from his sniping spot, yelled out. "Hey! Don't start partying yet! Something's happening with those bodies! I can see it from here! Yeah... Something is definit- Oh god… WATCH OUT!"

But while they were all focusing on Billy, they hadn't noticed the movement among the bodies. Even if they did, it wasn't like they could do anything anyway. They turned to see bodies moving and coming together. Jethro fired into the mass, but to no avail. The bodies stuck together and attached themselves without any pause. Despite it happening right in front of them, no one could see what it was being made.

Roughly after a minute, something happened. It was morbidly disgusting. It was horrid to even look at. It could make even the sickest of men retch at the very sight. It was a monstrosity made of the various bodies of dead humans. It was getting ready to kill them.

In a brief description of this creature, one could say it was relatively huge. That wasn't a lie and what made this thing even tougher looking was the mass of bodies that became its muscles. They all reacted together like clockwork, and together, they formed the massive base of the body. The body itself was short at the end, forming into a long tail that used fewer bodies and the end of it was what looked like half a dozen spikes (most likely parts of rib cages) all pointed in the same direction. The chest was large, toned, and compact enough that anyone could tell that this thing was able to take more than a few bullets. At each shoulder, large arms hastily put together were attached, with a ball of bodies on each end of the make-shift arms. For some odd reason, it had no legs, but the arms and "hands" could easily support its weight and move it around. The worst looking part was the head and face. The stringy neck led to a large head that was in no way human. It had two glowing, orange eyes on each side of its head, with a large jaw made of bones, spikes and other sharp objects that littered the streets. One hit from this thing could kill a man, if it didn't crush him into a pancake first.

Fully formed now, it let loose a roar that was amazingly deafening. Everyone stepped back a few feet, while Jethro considered his course of action. Unfortunately, he wasn't given enough time to do so, when he heard single bullets being fired. He turned to see his adopted brother, Billy, firing onto the monstrosity. Most did nothing, but a few managed to hit sensitive points and even an eye.

The creature roared again and launched itself closer to the six. It looked directly at Billy as he was reloading, and flipped around. With its large tail, it smacked down the fire escape from the top, forcing it to come crushing down on Billy, who didn't have time to react. Within a moment, he was under hundreds of pounds of metal bars and grates.

"BILLY! JENINE, ADEN, GET HIM OUT OF THERE! TYRONE, RICK, COVER THEM!"

While Rick unloaded his shotgun and Jethro aimed his assault rifle as Tyrone unmounted his minigun and took it into his hands. They both began firing at the large creature in front of them, and somehow managed to distract it long enough as Jenine and Aden ran to Billy. He was unconscious, but from their point of view, didn't look to badly injured.

Aden pulled out a blowtorch from his belt and fired it up. Jenine watched as he cut through the bars that surrounded Billy, with all the added tension of the monster barely being held back behind them. Within a few seconds, he had cut through like butter, freeing Billy. As he turned off the blowtorch, Jenine gasped as she stared at Billy. They somehow missed the bar that barely pierced his Kevlar,_ from_ _the opposite side_. It must have been short enough not to go all the way through one end of the suit, Billy's stomach, and out the other end of the suit.

They quickly pulled his body out of the wreckage and laid him on the sidewalk. Jenine looked at Aden and spoke.

"Go help the guys, I got this."

With a nod, he turned and pulled out his shotgun, setting it to automatic. Getting up, he made his way to the other four fighting the creature that they were barely able to dodge and defend themselves against. The chance of surviving this was not good, but confidence still remained on the faces of his teammates. He wish he had that same confidence right now.

In a blink of an eye, the monster threw its tail at Rick. He tried rolling out of the way, but was caught in the grasp of the spikes that also seemed to function together like a hand. He was held in the air and swung around. It then, despite being shot at, slammed him repeatedly into the street's hard ground. His suit was specifically designed to be able to absorb kinetic and physical attacks, but even that wouldn't stop him from being knocked out by being tossed around like a toy.

Unconscious now, Rick was lifted to the jaws of the monster, ready to be consumed without either hesitation or any fuss. Everyone watched as they continued firing, trying to force the creature to give up its meal. Everyone's heart stopped for a moment as they saw Rick about to be eaten in front of them. But that didn't happen.

A loud bang was sounded, and Rick fell to the floor alongside with part of the tail of the creature. It shrieked loudly and banged its arms on the ground in pain, shaking the area. Jethro, Aden, and Tyrone all looked back to see Billy now awake, and holding his sniper rifle in both arms. Jenine was by his side, injecting him with a painkiller. He winced at the injection, but thanked her as she walked to drag Rick somewhere safe.

Tyrone yelled to him, "Hey, how come your bullets actually _did something?_"

"Explosive." He smacked his magazine.

And it was true, the devastation those bullets wreaked on the tail was evident. But that creature would not be so easily scared off. It undid the ball of its hand and reached out quickly to Billy. He fired a bullet despite the close proximity, effectively knocking himself back and forcing the creature's hand back as well. It screamed again as Billy got back up, half his face burnt and smoking.

"Fuck! My face!"

The monster then did something unexpected as it threw a body at Billy. It hit him in the chest and knocked him down. He was not only confused, but damn livid.

"Did that piece of shit just throw a dead guy at me?"

He didn't have a chance to continue however, as it grabbed him and swung him around until he threw up. Done playing around, the creature tossed him into the air and closed its jaws as he fell in. It roared again, pushing the team back.

"That fucker ate Billy! Someone kill this piece of shit, maybe we can still save him!"

As if on cue, the creature suddenly started groaning loudly. Distant explosions could be heard, forcing everyone to look around. But soon, everyone noticed where it was coming from. The creature started expanding a bit, forcing it to get just a little bit larger. Suddenly, it burst into a flurry of body parts, blood, bones, and other various fluids. Everyone was hit by something, whether it was a kidney, liver, or even a spine. Despite the explosion, everyone looked fine. But it suddenly dawned on them what must have happened to force it to explode.

Tyrone ran to the pile of bodies, and quickly rummaged around. He found various pieces of equipment, but he had only decided to grab two things. One was a burnt hat, the other was a pair of dog tags. It was a miracle he had found either. He faced away from his teammates and put on what remained of the hat. He walked back to Jethro and handed him the dog tags.

"Here, your old lady and old man will want this."

Jethro watched as Tyrone walked away and sat by the tripod. He once again faced away from his team, not moving. Jenine and Aden could barely hear him hold back light tears.

"Thanks…"

Jethro walked over to an alley, as Aden and Jenine watched, not wanting to stop him. At first, nothing happened. Then they heard screaming followed by gunfire. It had lasted several seconds, no one moving. Both of them looked at each other and crept to the alley.

There were bullet holes all over the brick walls, and near the middle was a man gripping the top of the head he held between his legs. He rocked slowly back and forth, openly sobbing. He took of his beret and put on the dog tags he received. Both Aden and Jenine decided to walk away, not wanting to intrude on Jethro's grieving.

They walked over to Tyrone and Aden placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you good?"

There was a long pause, followed by heavy breathing.

"I don't know, how would you feel if your best friend went suicide bomber and killed himself?"

The poison and sarcasm in his tone hit Aden hard as he backed up, his hands out. Jenine caught on and kneeled by Tyrone.

"Listen, I know how you feel. We all do. He was like family. But do you think he would want us to just sit around, making ourselves easy targets? I don't think so." Despite the words, there was sincere compassion in them as she began to tear up. She forced herself to hold them back; what good would it do if she showed that she was doing what she was against right now?

Another silence.

"Yeah… He wouldn't. Oh man, when Rick finds out... Shit…" He grew even more somber now, almost on the verge of crying again. Most of the time, no one from TTG cried, unless a close teammate happened to die. Even Jenine, who was quite sensitive, knew when to hold in her emotions. But even so, it was _right_ to grieve over the man who sacrificed himself for them. It was just fitting.

He got up and moved over to where Jenine laid Rick. He looked around, and then gave Rick a light slap on the face. Nothing happened. He gave a harder one, now waking up Rick. He grabbed at his cheek and rubbed it.

"What the hell happened? Did that thing slap me or some shit?"

"Uhh, Rick, something's happened to Billy."

"What? Did he get stabbed or shanked or something?"

"Actually, man… He's dead."

Tyrone stared at him, looking for a reaction. Rick blinked and stared back.

"What? What do you mean dead?"

Tyrone sighed; this wasn't going to be easy. With how tight-knit this group was, dealing with the death of a teammate wasn't a pretty thing. Little did they know each of them would get practice at it a lot today.

"He got eaten by that thing, and he must have detonated those charges he kept with him. Those probably blew up his explosive rounds, and all of that pretty much tore that big piece of shit to pieces. He didn't survive man, he couldn't have…"

Rick was silent for a moment as he took in what he had just heard. He instantly regretted getting cocky and getting captured by the creature. He regretted getting knocked out for so long and letting one of his best friends blow himself up in some kind of martyrdom. But most of all, he regretted not being there for his teammates.

"Oh god, Billy…"

He got up and walked away, not looking anyone in the eye. Jethro exited the alley and walked past Rick as they looked at each other. Rick saw his bloodshot eyes, and this only made his eyes tear up more. Jethro stopped and turned to Rick walking away.

"Rick, stop. We have to go."

Rick flipped around.

"What? Can't you give me a minute? Do you know what just happened? Can't you just let me think for a second?"

"No. We have to keep moving before more come."

He walked over to the rest of the team as Tyrone patted him on the back. They started walking back towards the church. Rick looked at himself and shook his head. He turned to the group and caught up.

* * *

><p>They arrived at the church, now clear of any mutants. Loud organ music was playing from inside the church, and it started unnerving everyone. It really added to the atmosphere, and it made no one comfortable. It was as if it was playing for their fallen teammate…<p>

"Remember, we're trying to save survivors, not kill any of them."

Jethro pushed open the large doors and was greeted by quite a scene.

"Oh my god… What the hell…"

Pews were tossed all around the floor, barricading and littering the various parts of the church. Piles of bodies were torn apart, eviscerated, and inverted. Some were hanging from various body parts via the ceiling. Blood was prevalent in every corner and tile of the whole church. The lighting was a deep scarlet, most likely due to the stained glass that commemorated various saints. But what was really interesting, was the far back of the church, on a stage.

"OH! Stupendous! How nice of you to join us! I'd like to welcome you to my, heh, _congregation_! HAHAHAHA!"

Crazed laughing was heard as a fat man turned from his work on a table on the stage and looked at the five. He was dressed in a priest's robes, had a fat, bald head that matched his body, and he had a _devilish _grin on. His eyes were cracked and bloodshot, and his eyes were so wide they seemed as thought they almost lacked eyelids. At least a dozen crosses of random sizes adorned his neck, some broken, and some in a sparkling condition. To sum up his appearance, he didn't seem like he was practicing what he preached, at all.

He lifted his hands and wiped the blood off with a nearby towel, then moved to nearby podium to use the microphone. As soon as he moved, everyone could see his handiwork lying on the table. Lying there was a woman. However, this woman was far from living, or even capable of living in her condition. Her arms were sawed off, and replaced her legs, while her legs took the arms' spots. Large chunks of her body were missing and bite marks were all over her. Her ribcage was torn open and upwards, putting a boney barrier around the platter of organs. On top of the mess of organs was her head, with her eyes gouged out, her nose ripped off, her ears removed, all placed inside her full mouth.

Aden turned and threw up on a pew on his right. The fat man with the bloodshot eyes looked in amusement and laughed, it becoming booming with the help of the microphone.

"Haha! Uneasy stomach, son?"

Jenine stared in unimaginable disgust at the slob of a priest in front of her. She felt pure hatred at him, glaring into his soul. With her "gift", she was able to see into his mind what was happening. She found nothing. Just an empty and hollow mind full of nothing.

"What- what have you done? You sick bastard! What have you done to these poor people?"

He glared at her and scowled hard.

"SILENCE WOMAN! YOU SHALL NOT SPEAK IN SUCH A WAY ABOUT GOD'S BIDDING! YOU LEACHEROUS WENCH, REPENT THY WORDS!"

She stepped back, afraid for her life now. Rick stepped up however, and pointed a gun at the priest.

"Hey asshole, don't talk to my sister like that. I'll put enough bullets in your head that you'll learn some manners. So don't fuckin' try to threaten my sister, ight bitch?"

The priest's glare subsided, and slowly became another grin. He started chuckling, and it soon became the same maniacal laugh from earlier. He grabbed at his face with both hands rubbed his skin around. The sheer amount of extra skin moving around was nauseating.

Jethro took off his beret and rubbed at his head, as he turned in a circle.

"Oh this is just fucked up."

He was knocked down a second later however, by what looked like half an arm.

"UGH! What the fuck!"

He looked and saw the priest holding another arm from under his robes, ready to throw another.

"Child, you should watch your mouth in the house of God, lest you incur his disciple's wrath!"

Tyrone stepped up.

"Hey bitch, how about you stop killing people and come with us? We'll get you to a nice, cozy, padded, white room."

"Do you realize who I am? Do you realize _what_ I am? I've been chosen by God to become one of the few and powerful! What we lack in numbers, we make up for in strength!"

"Yeah, and just who the hell are you?"

"We are the few spared the demise of full-on infection! We've been graced with only half-infection! Quite amazing, really! We've changed and become just as strong as those damned outside! And with added abilities! I decided to use these powers to the best of my ability, and do God's work! He has commanded me to save the souls of all wayward humans residing in the city, and as a good follower, I shall do his bidding! Now… Let's see if I can't save your souls! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Suddenly, tendrils made of rotten flesh and arms grasped at each other and came from beneath his cloak, lifting him in the air. He held out his arms in a divine way as he laughed maniacally at his performance, getting higher in the air.

Rick gagged at the sight.

"Uegh! What the fuck did you do, eat those body parts and shit them out? Those things are fucking _disgusting!_ I mean, goddamn what the fu-"

He was suddenly cut off as a tendril shot at his chest, knocking him off his feet and onto the floor. It receded and turned back to the priest. It approached his face and moved oddly.

"Mmm, yes. Divine. Do go on. Really? Quite astounding… It appears your soul, child, is heavily corrupted. You shall be the first to be saved!"

"You ain't saving shit today!" Tyrone started firing at the priest. Nothing happened however, as the tendrils meshed together to form a shield around the priest. He stopped firing after a minute, and watched as the human flesh tentacles moved out of the way of the priest.

"Do you honestly think that your pitiful bullets can stop one of God's most divine creations?"

In a blink of an eye, he was in front of Tyrone. They met eyes for only a split-second, right before Tyrone was lifted into the air. He was being choked to death, and he couldn't even do anything about it. Aden equipped his blowtorch and set it to full-blast as he lowered his goggles. He ran to the arm and spewed hot flame at the tendrils. It jumped and recoiled, but held its grip.

Aden's blowtorch however, was quite powerful and made quick work of the human flesh. Tyrone was released and fell to the floor, taking in deep breaths. He looked up at Aden, who pocketed his blowtorch, and said in raspy voice, "Thanks."

"AHA! SO YOU ARE AN AGENT OF THE DEVIL! YOU USE HIS VILE FIRE TO PURGE ALL THAT IS GOOD! SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES OF WORKING AGAINST GOD!"

Five tendrils grabbed at Aden, each taking an arm, head, or leg. He knew this would not end well, not in the least. Within a moment, each pulled hard, forcing him to groan under the pain of being torn to bits. His suit would protect him, but not for long under such constant pressure. No one could do anything to help him; he was too high up to be able to be helped.

"TYRONE! GIMME A BOOST!"

"GO GET HIM!"

He started to feel his joints separating as the tendrils only pulled harder. But salvation came, and in human form. Rick jumped up to a tendril, and climbed up to another, getting to a higher point. He came face to face with Aden.

"Don't worry, bro, we'll get you out of here ASAP."

He pulled out his machete and started hacking at the tendrils. He started with the neck, which scared the shit out of Aden. After removing that, he focused on the legs, and with little effort, cut them free. Then, he sliced through the left arm's tendril, throwing off his balance. But right as he pulled back for a final swing, something grabbed his arm.

"I would not work against me if I were you, boy!"

"Seriously, shut the fuck up. Like, now. You annoying pain in the ass."

Rick switched hands and cut his arm free, right before cutting Aden's right arm free. They both fell quickly to the ground, landing on their asses. However, they didn't have time to worry about that, as a storm of body parts were flung at them. Everyone took cover behind pews, and they spoke.

Jethro, taking command, asked the first question. "Ok, this guy won't go down by bullets, he's too well protected. Anyone got any ideas?"

"We get the hell outta here, that's what!" Tyrone groaned.

"No, we can't let this piece of shit kill more people!" Rick yelled.

Jenine looked out to the priest and hid back again. "I think I know a way we can get close enough to kill him. It's going to take some work, but I think we can do it."

"Might as well try it, Jenine. Tyrone, Rick, Aden, listen up," he nodded to Jenine to continue.

"Ok, I think I can distract him long enough for someone to get close and put some bullets in his head. If a few of you guys can cover me, I should be able to disrupt his thoughts and brain. I won't be able to shut him down, but I can force him to hallucinate what's happening in front of him. I don't know what that'll make him do, but it won't be pretty."

Aden gave a skeptical look, "Gift? What are you, a mind-reader?"

"No, I'm a disruptor. I'd rather explain this later."

"Right, who wants to be the one to put a bullet in this guy's head?" Jethro asked, less than enthusiastically.

No one said anything. It was understandable, defending against these tentacles seemed more fun than dodging them to get close to a priest who collected body parts and arranged his murdered into bouquets and center pieces. But, of course, being the new guy gave you the feeling that you had to do the dangerous things anyway. They all looked at Aden.

"You guys want me to do it?"

Tyrone hit him hard on his back, knocking some air out of Aden's chest. "Hell yeah we do! You're quick, so you can get close before something happens!"

"Oh, well now I _have_ to do it, seeing as though you complimented me so."

"Heheh, you got it."

"Lookie here new guy, if you're not up to it, I'll do it. But your shotgun isn't going to be good against a moving target that small, so unless you want to blowtorch anything that gets close, you might want to go," Rick explained.

"What about you? You have a shotgun."

"Yeah, but I also have a riot shield and a machete. You have what, a combat knife probably? Try cutting through an arm or leg in one swipe with _that_!"

"Fine, I'll do it. Just try to cover me?"

"Yeah, yeah," Rick started mumbling, "I remember back in my green days, no one would ever cover you. You had to cover yourself!"

"Ok, Jenine, start cracking at him. Rick and Tyrone, you're with me. Aden, you get up close to him and do something about him. Everyone ready?"

Aden nodded, along with Jenine. She sat down and focused, her eyes becoming a milky white. Nothing happened for a minute, but then they heard screaming.

"WHAT IS THIS DEVILRY! DON'T TRY TO CLOUD MY CONNECTION WITH GOD! HEATHENS! ALL OF YOU ARE HEATHENS! YOU SHALL ALL BUUUUUUURRRRRNNNN!"

Everyone looked out of cover to see the priest hitting his head with his fists, screaming like a mad man. Which he was, but it still added to the effect. Suddenly, dozens of make-shift tentacles erupted from his robe, all spinning in random directions. Some slammed the ground, shaking the floor, while others upturned anything in their way.

Aden watched as things got more and more dangerous, but he felt really endangered when something grabbed him and forced him to turn around. He saw Jenine's face, with bright light coming out of her eyes. Her mouth was open and emitted a brighter light, which seemed real odd as she still spoke.

"Go! Now!"

Everyone broke out of cover and took their respective positions. Jethro started firing at the tendrils, while Rick pulled out his equipment and Tyrone mounted his minigun onto a half-destroyed pew. They were still far back in the church, near the large double doors, so it would be easier to destroy things that got close. Aden got up and rushed ahead, taking cover when necessary.

Getting nearly half way there, he heard a booming voice directed at him. He hid behind a pew, but was yanked out by his foot. He was held in the air, while being spoken to.

"YOU! GIVE ME YOUR LIFE TO DO GOD'S BIDDING AND I PROMISE YOUR SOUL WILL BE SAVED!"

Aden felt something slowly starting to leave him. It was subtle at first, but soon, he felt like he was getting more and more sluggish. He couldn't place it, but he knew the priest was doing something to him. A red tint was taking his eyes, and his vision slowly started clouding. He knew he had a only a few moments before he might regret not doing something, so he grabbed his blowtorch and put it full-blast again. He quickly managed to cut through the tendril as it shook and fizzled and burnt. He fell down, landing on his back.

"Ohhhhh… shit…"

He forced himself back up and crawled behind a pew. He sat for a moment and looked up and in front of him. The priest looked like he was slightly larger now, for whatever reason. He also wasn't hitting his head as hard.

Aden looked back and saw the light get even brighter now. Like some kind of reaction, the robed man resumed hitting his head with the original force he had done with earlier. It was amazing how he could still be conscious, let alone not even bruised. This thing was made out of something unholy, but that wouldn't stop Aden. He knew what was required of him.

He ran forward, dodging any tendrils that wanted to sap him for more of his energy. He was nearly to the stage, when he went right. Out of nowhere, a tendril side-swiped him and knocked him into a wall. He got back up and continued around the stage. Reaching the right corner of the room, he turned and started slowly going up the stairs. He tried his best to sneak up on the priest, but his heavy engineering boots betrayed him. Still, nothing seemed to break the priest from his trance.

He got closer and closer as his heart starting pounding faster and faster. He could feel his nervousness ooze out of him as he got within ten feet of the bald-headed man. He steeled himself and grabbed at his blowtorch. He could have used his combat knife, or hell, even his shotgun, but this seemed so much more satisfying. This thing would cut through the fat head of the fallen priest so fast, one would have thought it was made of butter. He held it to the right side of the priest's face, and squeezed the trigger.

Within less than a second, load, ear-piercing screaming could be heard everywhere. A disgusting smell rolled all through the church in only a few seconds. Aden still held his welder out as it burned its way through the skull of the priest, making a distinct crackling sound. He pushed his welder closer, and it soon broke through the skull itself, hitting the brain. But before anything more could happen, he was thrown back by a tendril.

He was tossed off the stage and hit the floor hard, rolling back. His team ran to him and watched as the priest convulsed and spat blood all over. All the tendrils receded back into his robe, and he fell to his knees, looking up at the large cross above him. He looked down at the five people in front of him and got up, running into the back of the church.

"Shit! Tyrone! Run after him!"

Rick lifted Aden up as Tyrone gave chase. They soon followed, but it wasn't easy to keep up with an ex-pro NFL running back. Rick could just imagine him tackling down the fat man. He chuckled and went behind the curtain, leading down a set of stairs. They could still hear the running, as they stepped off the stairs and went down a corridor.

This was interesting. It seemed a series of corridors were underneath the church, and they severely contrasted in looks. White walls, no doors, just intersections and more turns. But they didn't bother taking any; they could plainly see both the priest and Tyrone running in front of them. Despite his size, the priest could definitely run quickly, surprisingly. They hooked a right, and were followed by the rest of the team.

After a series of turns, they could see the priest shoulder in a door, closing it as soon as he was in. Tyrone kicked it down, breaking it off its hinges. He ran in, and was soon followed by everyone else. They walked into what looked like a laboratory. Scientific equipment lined the walls with other office furniture and supplies. In the center of the large room, however, was a test area. A glass encasement, inside was maze made of one-way Plexiglas. A large bulkhead door was left open, as Tyrone chased the priest in.

It seemed like the priest was taking random turns, as Tyrone followed. But what Tyrone didn't notice was that the priest stopped at a corner.

"Tyrone! Watch out!"

But it was too late. Right as he was about to turn the corner, the priest stabbed him with something from under his robe. Whatever it was, it was strong enough to not only pierce his suit, but bring him down quickly. From where they were, the team couldn't see what it was that he used, but they saw some kind of blade glisten with blood for a moment.

Aden ran over to a terminal and started hitting keys. He seemed focused as he typed commands that no one else understood. Jethro ran to him.

"What the hell are you doing? We're all going in to help him!"

"The maze. It's made of one-way glass. You're not going to find them in time. Look at the ceiling in the maze. The walls can be lifted."

Jethro looked up, and Aden was in fact right, there _were_ special tiles on the ceiling to allow for the maze to be lifted. He watched as Aden typed furiously. He looked back to the maze and saw the priest lift up Tyrone using only one hand. He watched in horror as the fat man used the other hand to tear Tyrone's suit in one quick ripping motion. The priest gave an odd look and chuckled.

"Seriously? Is this man seriously wearing a tuxedo under a military uniform? You've been poisoned by society, my child! Allow me to alleviate that!"

Rick looked at Jethro, "Not like he never does."

The priest dropped the groaning and paralyzed Tyrone and went over to the bulkhead. He closed it quickly, tightening it enough so that no one other than him would be able to open it. He walked back nonchalantly to Tyrone.

"Shit! Now we can't get in!" Jethro angrily yelled. "FUCK!"

"Toss me your blowtorch, new guy. I'll make quick work of that thing."

Still focused on typing, Aden never took his eyes off the screen as he tossed his blowtorch to Rick. Rick moved quickly as he approached the door and got to work. Aden hit one last key and sighed. Soon, the see-through maze was lifted.

The priest saw this immediately and smiled devilishly. He dragged Tyrone over to the opposite side of the glass that the team was on. He grabbed Tyrone by the head and slammed it into the glass, cracking it. He then revealed his weapon. It was odd, very odd. It was what looked like a glove, made of skin. It was large enough for his fingers and hand, and at the tip of each finger, were large blades. They all seemed uniform and matching. Almost like it _was_ his hand.

Jenine shriveled slightly at the sight. "What is _that?_"

The priest had heard her and spoke. It was amazing he was speaking, let alone alive, despite half his head burnt in.

"This!" He held his hand into the air. "Is one of my gifts! They come from me, and they are quite deadly! Just ask all the others that I've saved! HAHAHAHA! But I'd rather demonstrate it to all of you _**personally**_!" He started laughing maniacally as he threw his head into the air. He picked up Tyrone again, and punched him in the face. He wasn't able to fight back in the least; he must have lost _at least_ a few pints of blood at this point. He laid him on his knees, forcing him to look up at him as he pulled back his right hand.

He grinned again, and ripped his hand across Tyrone's face, launching several slices of his head into the glass wall. They were perfect slices, and made clear cuts easily. The slices of head slid down the glass, leaving a light red trail as they hit the floor. The body slumped and just fell to its side, unmoving other than the blood spewing from the where the head had been cut into pieces, and where he had been stabbed in the chest.

Everyone looked in horror at the monster of a semi-human right in front of them. He had just killed one of their longest teammates. They didn't feel sadness. They couldn't. They only felt hatred and anger. Jethro punched the glass and looked at the priest.

"YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT! WE'LL KILL YOU FOR THIS! FUCKING COUNT ON IT!"

While Jethro and the priest stared down, Rick kicked down the bulkhead, inciting looks from everyone. He stopped in his tracks, and saw not only Tyrone's body, but pieces of his head as well. His mouth hung open as he stared for a moment. The priest leaned against the glass with his arms crossed and kept a smug face at his handiwork. He chuckled, slowly breaking Rick out of his daze.

Rick slowly looked up at the priest, before saying something at room volume.

"You sick fucker. You fucking killed him. No one kills one of us and lives to talk about that shit. I'm personally going to have your fucking head on a plate."

The priest stepped away from the glass and threw his arms out dramatically. Then he raised an eyebrow, giving an expecting look.

"Then, come at me, _**heathen!**_" He started laughing again.

Aden couldn't stand to watch this go down; he started walking around the wall and to the bulkhead, before someone grabbed his arm.

"Let me help him Jethro."

"No. This is Rick's fight. You're new, so it would be hard for you to understand how personal this was to all us. But Rick's been best friends with Tyrone since his rapper days. And that was a long time ago. Let him have this."

Aden gave a skeptical look, and then nodded. He wanted to go and help as much as possible, but it seemed that even TTG had their own customs. He never would have expected them to be such a tight-knit group of agents. Most agents he had encountered were loners in life, and loners on missions. The government ended creating special team-based operations decades ago, but these guys were still here. The Agency decided that despite how ineffective most team-missions would be, this one in particular managed to keep them clean, most of the time. It was surprisingly cost-effective to use them.

Rick deployed his riot shield and unsheathed his machete. The priest got into a defensive stance as Rick approached, ready to fight. Rick gripped his machete hard and brought it back.

"This one is for my boy Goontacular."

He then let loose swing. The priest however, obviously saw this coming and threw up his bladed hands. An ear-piercing screech was heard as the clashed together, but neither the priest nor Rick flinched. They then went into combat, each attacking and defending, and each swiping at any chance they got.

Rick swiped again, yet missed. Taking the opportunity, the priest knocked away his riot shield arm, giving him a chance to attack. He brought his blades across, as Rick tried moving backwards in time. While the priest hadn't given the blow he expected, Rick was still injured. The swipe was enough to cut through his armor and straight into his flesh. It didn't go past his muscle however, so he was able to pass the pain off. He brought the riot shield in front of him and crouched slightly lower.

The priest gave him an odd look as Rick slowly moved forward. Rick then threw his shield forward, knocking back the fat man. Caught off guard, the priest went into a fit of rage at such actions. He kicked back the shield, knocking back Rick in the same way he had knocked down the priest. An idea crossed Rick's face as he resumed his position behind the riot shield. The priest raised a brow and formulated a way of finishing this. As soon as the man with the shield pressed forward, he would go around and rip the spine clean out of him. 'How _devious_,' he thought to himself.

Rick launched his riot shield forward, and the priest tried moving out of the way to gouge out Rick's back. But prescience was on Rick's side, as he used his shield to smack away the bladed hand of the priest.

The priest's eyes widened as he noticed his folly.

With a swift motion, Rick stabbed the machete into the open side of the priest's head, turning it in his hands to make sure it scraped and scalped every surface inside the skull. The priest's body was going slack and fell to the floor. Rick wiped off the blood using the priest's robe, and then sheathed it. He withdrew his shield and looked down at the man on the floor. To his surprise, the fat priest wasn't dead.

The priest lifted his head and looked at Rick with curious eyes.

"Who are… you?"

"Why the fuck does a slob like you need to know?"

The priest winced.

"I'd like to know the name of the person I'm about to thank."

That sure as hell caught Rick off guard. He raised a brow, then forced himself to let go of his spite. He watched as the fat man coughed up blood, letting it pour out of his mouth.

"My name is Rick. And why are you thanking me?"

The priest turned his head slightly to the side, as if confused.

"Don't you know what you've done for me?"

"No."

"You've saved me. I- I can't thank you enough."

"Saved you? I fucking killed you."

"Yes. You saved me. I'm not sure what I've done, but I know that I haven't done a single good thing since I've been infected. There's a tremendous weight on my shoulders, and I can't remember why."

"You've done some fucked up things."

"I assumed so… I'm sorry for what I've done. And I'm sorry to you for anything I might have done to you specifically. Please, I never wanted to do anything bad. The virus. It changes you. Clouds your thoughts, makes you see things that aren't there. The voices. They're always telling you what to do. They tell you that you need to do this to survive, or do that to help people. I- I just didn't know what to do! So I listened. I must have done unimaginable things, am I correct?"

Rick nodded.

"Oh Lord… I'm a monster in a human's body! Please, let me do some right in this world before I die. Is there anything you need, anything at all? As a church, we don't have much, but we make do. Please, just tell me you need something so I can die knowing that I wasn't completely lost. Please."

Rick thought for a moment.

"We need to get all of the information from the labs onto a drive. Where are the labs?"

The priest looked at him oddly again.

"You don't want to go there… That's where _It_ lives."

"It?"

"The first infected. He was the one to mutate the most. He was the one to infect the almost all of the science, security, and work teams. But with time, he was forced to plant himself into the deepest parts of the facility. He's still there, commanding all of these- these _things!_ I- I don't think you want to go there. So many have died. I know. I remember the survivors coming to me."

"And?"

"One of them was infected. I was asked to treat him." He sighed. "Little did I know that he would have turned so quickly on me. That's how I got this," he lifted his arm, letting the sleeve of the robe slide down. There was a large bite mark on his forearm. It was nasty, running with blood and puss. It was a real sight.

"So you were infected?"

"Not exactly. I was only partially infected. A full on infection would have rendered me as something completely non-human. But by being only partially infected, I gained such strength and power! It was a very rare case. Only a handful was most likely half-infected, and they usually don't survive long. Both humans and mutants try to kill them with the utmost urgency. I could always hear the groans and screams of them outside the church, but luckily, they don't understand the concept of doors yet. At least, the ones in front didn't."

Rick was silent for a moment.

"So how do we get to the labs?"

"Didn't you learn anything from what I've said? It's too dangerous."

"You don't know what we're capable of."

"_We're_? There's more than one of you?"

"Yeah, we had two more, but…"

"Did I…"

"Only one."

"Lord have mercy on my soul."

"Are you going to tell me?"

The priest said nothing as he thought.

"Yes. Do you know where we are?"

"A bunch of tunnels?"

"Correct. But these tunnels run under every part of the island. Every. Single. Part. Even the labs. When I discovered them, I was thoroughly surprised. But they have their uses. Here," he winced as he reached into a robe pocket, pulling out a PDA. "Take this. I asked a friend high in security to give me the maps of these tunnels. It should come in handy. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Are there any other survivors? We're tasked to save as many as possible."

"Yes, every other survivor is holding up in the gymnasium of the local high school. There are some freelancing survivors that are on their own, but they won't last long, if there's any of them surviving that is. The high school is easily barricaded, and it would have taken only a little effort to make it into a fortress. They may not all have guns, but they have hopes. They're waiting for a group like you. Save them."

"How did you know about them?"

Color left the face of the priest.

"I- I don't remember much. I remember speaking with a one of the survivors from the labs about this, before I was infected. He told me about how his wife and child were still there, waiting for him. I wonder if he made it out."

"I don't think he did."

"Why do you say that?"

"You haven't seen upstairs as of late have you?"

"Oh God, what have I done?"

"It's best you _don't_ know. Take my word for it.

The priest shook his head. He then looked Rick directly into his eyes.

"I have a favor to ask."

Rick gave a skeptical look.

"What?"

"Kill me."

He reached into his robe and pulled out a small pistol. He held it in the air for Rick to take.

"Please. You must. Put me out of my misery."

"You're going to die soon anyway."

"I want a quick death. I can't stand waiting for the inevitable. And please, let no one know about what Father Gregori McCarthy has done to his people. I don't want to go down in history as the opposite of a saint."

"I don't think that'll be a problem…"

"Please, finish this."

Rick got up and held the pistol in his hands. He looked down at the dying man and aimed the gun. He knew this man was not in control of his body, but he still felt anger at him killing one of his oldest friends. The priest smiled.

"Finally…"

A loud bang went off. Rick holstered the gun, and went over to Tyrone's body. He grabbed two things from his body: Two pairs of dog tags, and Tyrone's PDA. Unbeknownst to most, Tyrone had kept all of his songs from his rapper days on this PDA, along with all the music he was planning on using when he finally got out of his TTG contract. Knowing his ability, he would have been famous again quick. But he decided he wouldn't tell many people; it was considered a pipe dream at most to him.

Rick placed the two pairs of dog tags on his neck, and pocketed the PDA. He walked out of the room and through the bulkhead door. He walked over to Jethro, handing him the PDA he received from the priest.

"The tunnels here are all over th-"

"We know. We heard your conversation."

Rick sighed as they all walked out the door.

* * *

><p>They had been walking for what felt like hours. They were definitely making progress on the distance thing though. In their time walking the tunnels, they saw nothing. Nothing at all. No mutants, no humans, not even rats. It was eerie, very eerie. They all stopped for ten minutes to eat some rations. Jethro and Tyrone were the only ones who liked them, for whatever reason. With Jethro, it was understandable; he had come from a military family, and he was <em>in<em> the military since he was a teenager, making him probably like rations. Tyrone, however, never said why he liked them. It was too bad they would never get a chance to ask. After finishing their food, the four continued.

In roughly twenty minutes, they arrived at their destination. They reached what looked like the kind of double doors you'd see in a hospital. They immediately went through, ready to face anything in their way.

But it was deserted. There were signs of fighting, bullet holes, upturned equipment, and even blood and office supplies littering the floor. And yet, there was no one here. That was all the better for them, at least.

"Damn, did no one survive?" Rick asked.

"And there's no bodies around here, too," Aden added.

"Don't take good luck for granted boys, it'll only make our work easier. Aden, access the terminal behind that reception desk. Try finding the quickest route to the deepest level."

"Roger that."

Aden moved behind the reception desk and flicked the monitor on. He began typing and clicking the mouse.

"Guys, I just had an idea. You know how those bodies came together to become that big thing?"

"So? What are you getting at sis?" Rick questioned.

"What I'm getting at is that that priest was talking about first infected. Wouldn't it be possible for it to steal the bodies to make it bigger? The same way the other one did? Just think how many people died here, and still no bodies? It doesn't add up."

Jethro nodded, "She's right. That's entirely possible, and we have to avoid that thing at all costs. Unless…"

"There's an elevator to the lowest levels where the information servers are. We can take it there, but we don't know what's down there." He lifted his head and looked at the rest of the team. "What?"

"We think we know what's down there."

* * *

><p>It was surprisingly hard to actually find the elevator, despite the use of the facility's maps. The elevators themselves seemed to be tucked in the corner of a dusty corridor that seemed to get not enough attention, which seemed quite depressing.<p>

"These look like the ones," Aden confirmed halfheartedly, still focused on his PDA.

"Yeah, took long enough. Who the hell sticks elevators in a random part of a floor? Shouldn't they be in the center?"

Aden looked up after checking his maps, "Well, actually, the elevators are in the center, it's just that the floor goes in the north-west direction."

"Look, it doesn't matter, let's just focus on the mission and get this shit done before someone else gets hurt," Jethro warned.

Rick hit the elevator button, lighting it up. They decided to wait, because it was obvious that the facility was deep enough that an elevator would take time to get to their floor. After a minute and a half or so, they grew impatient with waiting, and after hearing no sound of moving machinery, decided to crack open the elevator door. When they did, they didn't get what they expected.

"Oh geez."

"That smells like _shit!_"

"What- what the hell is that smell?"

"Makes me wish I kept Tower's gasmask with me…"

The smell flew up the elevator shaft and exited at any possible opening, which one just so happened to be in front of the team. Pure, unequivocal disgust was the feeling that this smell gave off. Jethro peered down the shaft, and saw nothing other than a destroyed elevator at the bottom.

"Huh. Guess that explains the lack of elevator. But about that god awful smell?"

"Maybe some dead bodies?"

"No, this is worse. Anyway, let's try to find a way down."

Jethro searched the shaft for something to use on the way down. He had rope, but that would definitely not cover the extensive length of the climb down. He considered the pulley-wire that the elevator used, but threw that idea away when he realized that it was broken halfway down. Then, something caught his eye. On his side of the wall and on the right of the elevator door, was a ladder. It seemed fairly stable, and it wasn't missing any rungs either.

"Ok, how do you guys feel about ladders?"

Rick looked at Aden for a moment before turning back to Jethro.

"I think Jenine should go first."

"What? Why? She's our medic; we can't let her get into danger first."

"Eh-hem." Rick motioned his head to Aden.

Jenine put her palm to her face, "Rick, grow the hell up."

With Rick smiling, she leaned out of the elevator door and grabbed hold of the ladder. Getting a grip onto the sides, she put her boots to the sides of the ladder. Speeding the process up, Jenine slid down the shaft and towards the bottom, towards the crashed elevator.

"Aden, go."

Without a word, Aden followed Jenine's actions and made his way down the bottom. He reached the floor and looked around; he saw Jenine examining the destroyed elevator, peering in between the crumpled doors. He moved to her, and flicked on the flashlight that lied on his HUD goggles. Peering in, he recoiled at the sight inside.

"Ugh… Disgusting."

"What's wrong Aden?"

"Did you look in there? Never mind, you might not want to."

She raised a brow and kneeled down.

"Listen, I've seen some pretty messed up stuff. I _am_ a medic, after all. Besides what could be so bad that you wou-" She looked in and forced herself to fall backwards, pushing herself against the floor and away from the sight. "Wow."

"Yeah."

Aden reached inside without looking and grabbed something, pulling it out. He held it in the light to get a better look at what it was.

"A gun case? What would scientists be doing with guns?"

Jenine thought about it for a second before speaking, "Maybe _that_ wasn't a scientist in there. Maybe it was…"

"A spy?"

"Or a defector. It would make sense that he would have a gun if he were really working for the Chinese or Russians. Check inside, maybe what kind of gun it is will tell us?"

Aden unlatched the locks in place and opened the metallic case. "Oh wow. That is _nice_. _Real nice_."

"Well, at least we know he had style. But he was using an American military issued pistol, so that doesn't really help our theory."

The weapon inside the case was quite remarkable, if not overly lavish in design. It was an extremely old model of the Desert Eagle. It was obviously heavily modified and most likely custom made, with designs and other non-stock parts adorning it. Despite the changes, it still held that powerful and heavy feeling to it. Alongside it within the foam were other accessories made for it, a fat silencer, a special short-range scope sight, and even a weapon cleaning kit were inside, along with a small box of .45 ACP ammo.

".45's? Don't these usually use Magnum rounds?"

Aden lifted the Desert Eagle out of the case and into his hands, getting a feel of its weight. He looked back to see a note tucked in the area the pistol laid, and he began taking it and unfolding it. He looked at Jenine for a moment and began reading.

"Hey Dwight, I heard from someone that you need something special in case something back there goes wrong. I've heard the stories about what happens to people at your end of the facility, and we can't have that happening to you, so we 'found' this for you. If anyone asks why you have it, say you're an antique weapons collector or something, alright? Stay safe, we need guys like you to do the important things, and surprisingly, we don't have enough of them. Oh, and sorry to hear about Joey down at the labs, he was a pretty decent guy when he wasn't hung-over. I heard about how they found his body all twisted and hanging from the pipes. Jesus, how does that kind of shit happen? And how come none of the Administrators put better security down there or at the very least more cameras so you could tell who's doing these things? I don't know man, I really don't. Stay safe, and be sure to use this in case the Boogeyman comes to get you. Stay trilla, your boy, Simon. P.S. Let's go drinking later, it's been at least two weeks since we last did, and that's no way to live on this rock of an island. Also, the gun has a name. Stupid, yeah, but it was Nimble's idea. He called it the Black Kite. I don't know what the hell that means, but it sounds a bit weird right? Well, he did find it, so I guess just give him this one and call it by its name. We'll catch you later."

He looked at Jenine again, her frowning at the note.

"Killings? What was happening here?"

"Honestly Jenine, I think more than we can handle."

He retrieved the ammo and other accessories while putting them away in his belt holders. He holstered the "Black Kite" and dropped the case. From the top of the shaft they could hear yelling, followed by Rick jumping out of a shaft door and sliding down the ladder quicker than recommended. Within a few seconds, he came crashing to floor, falling onto his back.

"Ahh shit…"

Groaning, he got back onto his feet and stumbled to the elevator shaft. However, he managed to trip on a loose piece of the door, knocking him down again. He opened his eyes to peer straight into the elevator, taking in the odd and disgusting scene in front of him. Glowing eyes looked back at him.

"What the hell…" were all he could say before being grabbed and half of his body pulled inside the elevator. He held himself in place by grabbing onto the edges of the outside of the elevator, as whatever was pulling him in tugged harder. He heard a thump and saw Jethro landing at the base of the ladder. Jethro ran over and grabbed onto Rick, pulling him as hard as he could muster. Slowly, they were gaining more and more of Rick's body back, while odd chirping sounds coming from inside the elevator became louder.

Without a second thought, Aden rushed over and assisted Jethro in pulling Rick out. Rick grabbed the pistol the priest had given him and started firing into the darkness of the elevator. The flash gave him a split-second to see what was holding him, and this only made him want to fire more at it. After shooting all the rounds, he put the gun back as whatever this thing was finally let loose its grip. The three fell back and moved away from the elevator. Rick inspected himself and saw nothing different about his bottom half that look out of the ordinary, other than a few bloody scratch marks.

Jenine walked over to the elevator and pulled out two different grenades. She tossed in the fragmentation grenade first, which incited screams from inside the elevator. After a few moments, she tossed in a white phosphorous grenade, lighting the area inside with fire. The screams grew louder, but soon died out as the retch-inducing smell grew worse.

She walked over to the three staring at her and spoke, "What?"

Rick was panting and put his hand on her shoulder, "Thanks, but you just made the smell _ten times worse_. Let's just hurry up and get the hell out of here."

Aden looked back at the elevator, "Hey Rick, what was that thing in there?"

Rick chuckled, "You _don't_ want to know."

Jethro walked over to the door at the bottom of the shaft and began to pry it open. However, nothing happened as he pulled his hardest at the doors. He removed beret and scratched his head. He turned to Aden and made a circling motion with his hands as he walked away.

"Cut it open."

"Right."

Aden moved to the door and pulled out his blowtorch, lighting it up. He placed the large, blue flame to the door, as it began melting quickly. He made a rectangular cut in one door, then the other. He then kicked both in with ease, for which he got some odd looks.

Jenine raised a brow and asked, "Just how hot is that thing?"

Aden chuckled and walked through the hole in the doors, "I don't know, like 4,000 degrees Kelvin?"

Rick was the only one that laughed at that, mostly because he was the only one who knew how hot that actually was. He looked around and sighed, "You guys need to brush up on your thermodynamics."

He walked through the hole, soon followed by Jethro and Jenine. They arrived in the lowest floor of the facility, which was immaculately white for the most part. It looked almost like a hospital, but as they went deeper, they noticed the scenery was becoming more and more disturbing. The regular office-like walls soon became gray stone. They stopped momentarily at a terminal to download the floor's map file. Aden managed to pull them off quickly, and they were soon once again off to find the main information room.

They took a few hallways, turning as Aden pointed out the way with his PDA. No one said anything, however, about the low moans and groans emanating from the walls. They seemed to be coming from deeper in the facility, farther then they were. But as time progressed and as they walked deeper, the low groaning became louder with time. They all gave uneasy looks as they stopped at a corner.

Jenine glanced around her and looked up at the ceiling tiles, "Where is that coming from? You guy can hear that right? It's not just me?"

"I hear that shit too. That was what Father McCarthy was talking about, I think. The first mutated person," Rick added.

"You'd think that the first person to get infected would be dead by now. Maybe it's actually smart enough to stay alive in this place and not get wiped out by what security was around," Aden considered.

Jethro, with his patience wearing thin, snapped his fingers multiple times and loudly, "Hey, hey, hey, hey! Come on, we don't have to worry about that goddamn thing! That's what the wiper-warhead is for. Let's just focus on getting the data, finding the survivors, and getting the hell out of here. Just ignore the sounds for now. Now, let's find the data storage…"

* * *

><p>"This is it?"<p>

"Looks like it, Boss."

"Check the maps Aden, we don't have time to waste."

"This is the place. Should only take a few minutes to download the information."

All four members of the team walked into the double doors of the information storage room and scoped out the inside. The lights were off, but they had flashlights ready for that. After a few moments of fumbling in the partial dark, Jenine finally hit the light switch, illuminating the area. She instantly regretted it as they all saw an example of what Dr. Arne Keller had talked about in his speech on the horrors of the island.

It was in fact, a mutated child. It was short; maybe half the size of any of the team, but it had a large, bloated head. Its eyes were large and far apart; their beadiness was unnerving as they scanned the area. The forehead sprung from the head and was at least a few inches in front of the eyes, which must have blocked some of its vision. It was wearing no clothing, but it lacked anything other than legs, arms, a body and a head; everything about it was a mix between a brown and silvery grey. Its arms held hands that used long, spindly fingers with sharp nails at the end. But the most menacing thing about this creature was its teeth. It had some kind of saber-tooth tiger teeth, but they were placed differently; the upper set was where the first two upper-front teeth would be, while the lower ones replaced the canines on the bottom. They were long and extended at least half a foot in their respective directions. This sick mutated image of what was once a child was as deadly as it was scary.

It was on top of the body of a scientist, and both were bloodied. The scientist's back was ripped open, his spine's two broken halves protruding outwards. The mouth of the ex-child was covered in blood and some various tissue, but what was really interested was it seemed to be playing with a part of the spine in its mouth. The scientist was down face first onto the hard tiled floor, his face frozen in horror, showing his last moments. The creature looked up from the body and its eyes flicked across the now alit room. It saw the four new intruders and began screaming and howling at such a high pitch the scientist's glasses shattered.

It ran behind a toppled desk and still screamed. Jethro ran over to the desk and started firing at the menace, which forced it to scream harder. Eventually, his bullets made their way to the creature enough times to silence it, permanently. The screaming stopped, but now it was replaced with a new sound, something worse.

In the distance, footsteps and metal being stomped on could be heard. Everyone looked around, guns pointing and loaded. They all desperately searched the area, with nothing happening. Yet somehow, the sounds got closer, so close that they seemed like they were right next to them. Suddenly, the vents surrounding the room burst open, letting floods and troves of child mutants into the room. Without any time to spare, the whole team moved behind an earlier survivor's makeshift cover of fallen desks.

All of the mutants screamed, and they all focused on the four humans in front of them. Lacking a second thought, they all rushed, unafraid of the hail of bullets being fired at them. The fact that the area they were defending was a bottleneck probably saved them as the team managed to bring down the small horde in less than a minute. Aden took out the Black Kite and lined his shots for maximum bullet penetration, which cut the numbers quickly. Rick pushed back any lucky mutants that made it close enough to the cover, slashing at them with his machete.

In time, they managed to repulse the creatures, finishing off each that dared to even show themselves in front of the team. After the smoke cleared, mounds of bodies littered the floor. No one moved at first, ready to fight any surviving or hiding creatures.

Jethro looked around, "Ok… I'm going to go first, cover me."

He stepped over the cover and walked out into the room full of server towers. Anything could be lurking or hiding around one of these, but he was prepared. He was ready to smash whatever leaped out in the face with the butt of his gun. He would show no mercy to these damned abominations of something that was once so pure. Jethro walked past a few towers, staying in sight of his team. He looked around, and then slowly turned back to his team, lowering his assault rifle.

"Well… Look's clear from here. Aden, hurry up and downlo- AGHH!"

From a nearby vent leaped what seemed to be the last child, landing directly on the unguarded back of Jethro. It held him and kept a tough grip, not letting loose despite Jethro shaking around and smashing its body into the servers. It began tearing through his suit with its teeth easily, forcing Jethro to panic even more.

"GET! IT! OFF! GET IT OFF!"

He turned around and stumbled away from the team, falling to his knees as the creature began closing in on his skin. Aden aimed at the creature's head and fired a single round, barely missing Jethro's body and head. The creature leaped into the air, blood rushing out of both ends of its head. Aden fired again, this time bringing the mutant down for good. It fell to the floor with a thump and moved no more, blood pooling on the floor.

Jethro slowly got up, and checked his back. Luckily, the creature hadn't broken through in time to get to his skin, but it left a nasty hole in his suit. He stumbled forward and turned to the team with an uncharacteristic sloppiness. He didn't, however, see what was forming right on the floor to where he was backpedaling.

"I'll tell you guys, I thought I was done for right theRE! SHIIIIIIIIT!"

He fell through the floor and into an inky and murky black hole that spread from the floor. Growls could be heard as he tried pulling himself out, with little progress being made. Rick jumped over the cover and sprinted to him, grabbing onto his arm. While straining to hold onto his teammate, Rick looked past and saw what was causing Jethro to fall through the floor.

The hole was pitch-black inside, showing an endless infinite of darkness. The way it settled onto the floor made it look like it was alive, breathing and made of some kind of dark, moving blood. He turned away for a moment to get a better grip while Aden and Jenine grabbed on to assist. They were slowly losing ground and their team leader's body, forcing them to pull harder on him. He groaned in pain as Rick took another look into the darkness, except this time he was met with something looking back.

He couldn't see how long it was, but it had a human's upper torso. Its skin was a burnt kind of fleshiness, with a crispy brown look to it. Long arms consisting of three joints led to large hands with three sharp, main fingers and a smaller opposable thumb under them. It latched onto Jethro tight with these hands, and it didn't look like it was about to let go. The worst thing about this creature was its face and head. The head was thin, yet long and stretched upwards. Jagged diagonal eyes full of emptiness and nothing separated at a bridge of the face, leading down to the mouth full of sharp, concave teeth. It growled and snarled furiously as it pulled in Jethro deeper and deeper.

Despite the whole team working to pull out their leader, it was in vain. As they gave their all, the monstrosity in the floor used more of its strength in a pull, to devastating effects. Rick, Aden, and Jenine all fell back, hitting the floor hard. The hole in the floor shrunk to the size of a baseball, closing itself from them. In Rick's hand was another hand, attached to an arm, that wasn't attached to anything. Their eyes grew in horror as Rick threw it against a wall, looking back into the hole. They could hear both the growling and the screaming of Jethro as sounds of fighting and gunshots came from underneath them.

Hearing those sounds was like an eternity of waiting, hoping that by some miracle that Jethro would be able to make it out of this, despite his missing appendage. After a few moments, nothing happened. They all waited, while their hope slowly diminished. Rick turned around to look at the last two members of the team, but was caught off guard by a hand grabbing him through the shrunken hole. It was human, which could only mean one thing.

"I'm not… dead yet…"

The hand pushed open the hole, forcing it to let the rest of its body through. Rick grabbed the hand and helped out what must have been Jethro. Rick looked him over and saw the heavy damage he must have sustained while being attacked. His right arm was torn clean off, spurting blood on the floor, while claw marks and signs of infection were taking over his face and body. His eyes were slowly becoming grayed and milky, while his skin became cracked and hard.

"I'll be honest… I am _not_ feeling good right now…"

Jenine held out her flashlight to Jethro's eyes as she checked to see if he was following the light, "Jethro, you've definitely been infected…"

"Yeah, I thought that… Too bad there's no cure…"

Aden shuffled his feet nervously, "So what do we do now?"

Jethro looked at each of them, his expression affectionate, "There's only one thing to do. Rick, would you please do the honor?"

Rick's eyes grew wide as he backed up, "Wait, what? You want me to _kill you!_"

"Yeah… I don't want to be monster. You might want to hurry; I'm starting to not be able to think straight… Please, just pull out your pistol and put one in the side of my head."

"Jesus… I hope you can forgive me for this, Boss… Do I really have to do this? We've known each other for so long, and I bet there's a cure for this thing somewhere! We just have to find it!"

"No, there is no cure. You'd know that if you actually listened to briefing… Now please, just," his breathing was becoming more labored by the second, "goddamn put a bullet in my head! I don't want to turn on you guys!"

Rick pulled out the priest's pistol, reloaded it, then cocked it. A hard frown was stuck to his face as his eyes began to water and become bloodshot. Jethro stood up and walked in front of the pistol, ready to be shot. Rick began sweating as his finger slowly began to squeeze on the trigger. Jethro's face was twitching slightly as his eyes began to become glossy and silvery.

Right as Rick was about to pull the trigger, Jethro made his move. He used his hand to smack Rick's arm away as he fired, barely missing Jethro's head. He grabbed onto the pistol and slowly forced Rick to aim it at himself, his strength undoubtedly stronger now. Rick put all of his effort in holding off the gun, from stopping it from shooting at him.

He groaned under the stress of the situation and spoke, "What are you doing? You wanted me to do this so you wouldn't become a monster! And now you want to kill me?"

Jethro's expression twitched as his eyes dissolved slightly. He was given a brief moment of clarity as he pulled the pistol to his head, speaking only one word.

"Please."

A loud bang resonated against the walls of the room. Rick held the gun at his side as Jethro fell onto his back, his head bleeding profusely. Rick's eyes began to water even more now as he held back tears and some sobs. He sniffed as he turned around to face his team, waiting for their reaction. Neither Jenine nor Aden looked at Rick, only at the body of Jethro with odd looks. Rick turned around and saw Jethro on the floor, writhing in pain.

"You- You're still alive?"

Jethro groaned loudly, "Yeah… use a bigger gun next time… I have a hell of a headache now… Hah! Fuck…"

Aden tapped Rick's arm and handed him the Black Kite. Rick took it and holstered his pistol. He aimed it down at Jethro, ready to put him out of his misery. But Jethro put a hand up first, and signaled Rick over.

"Come here a sec, Rick…"

Rick moved closer and kept a guiltily suspicious look on his face.

"Get closer… Right next to me…"

Rick's frown got harder as he kneeled down next to Jethro. As soon as he was in range, Jethro grabbed a hold of Rick's collar, pulling their face's close. He stared hard at Rick in full seriousness, despite his eyes so glossy and white. Rick didn't react; he simply let Jethro do as he wished at that point.

"Listen Rick… I have one goddamn request before I die… I expect you and the rest of the team to fucking fulfill this…"

Rick gave a slightly curious look, "What? What do you need us to do?"

Jethro looked down and chuckled, "Follow your orders, that's all that I ask. No matter _what_ they are, follow them to the dot… I don't want my last mission to be known as botched up or unfinished… Just, please, do this one last thing for me…"

Rick sighed quietly, and then looked at Jethro, "Yeah, of course Boss. You have our word; we'll do what we have to do to make sure that everything goes according to plan."

Jethro loosened his grip and his head fell back, only to be caught by Rick. He held Jethro's head up and looked at his teammates.

"Hurry up, I can't focus anymore… And one more thing, take these…"

Jethro pointed to his dog tags and beret. Rick grabbed them, taking sight off the ornament on Jethro's dog tags.

"A horn? Why is there a horn here?"

"That's a narwhal horn... It's good luck. I find it at a gift stand back in Siberia. You should hold onto it."

Rick placed the dog tags on his neck and placed the beret in his backpack.

"Take good care of those…"

Rick's eyes watered again, contemplating what he was about to do. He pulled out the Black Kite and aimed it at Jethro's head with his free hand. He squeezed the trigger, letting a bullet go straight through his team leader's head. Jethro's eyes and jaw lay open as Rick put his head down onto the floor. Jenine walked close and kneeled, checking Jethro's pulse. She then closed his eyelids, shaking her head.

Aden watched as a man he barely knew had just died in front of him by one of his own teammates. He shook his head and looked around, trying to find something to distract him. He noticed a terminal not very far from him on the right, past a few server towers. He looked back at Jenine and Rick, and then silently walked over to the terminal.

He looked back one last time and began typing rapidly at the computer, pulling up a command prompt. Wasting no time, he pulled out two separate PDA's and began downloading all the files onto one. He looked from side to side as he waited for it to finish. When a prompt came up indicating download completion, he quickly swapped the PDA's and repeated the process. Within a few moments, the prompt came up again. He unplugged the PDA from the computer and placed both inside a belt compartment. He sighed as he looked back to see Jenine and Rick staring at him, his body freezing up.

Rick gave a questioning look but soon dismissed his thoughts, "I guess you got the information?"

Aden blinked and looked back, "Y- Yeah, got it all right here," he tapped at his belt. He smiled cheesily and chuckled. "Well, we better get out of here and backtrack up to the surface. We still need to rescue those survivors at that school."

Rick scowled, "Who are you, the new leader?"

Aden stuttered for a moment, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, relax Rick. I'm just doing what Jethro asked us to do."

Jenine grabbed Rick's shoulder and persuaded him to move forward, "Come on, we're wasting time we don't have; we don't know when they might decide to pull us out."

Rick looked down, then stared at Aden.

"Let's go then."

* * *

><p>"One last turn and we reach the church's basement."<p>

"Ok guys, get ready for anything, we don't know what might've decided to call the church its home since we left."

The team ascended the staircase and pushed past the curtains. They arrived on the stage to the exact same scene they first saw. Nothing had gotten in, but only the priest was missing. Him and three other team members.

Jumping off the stage, they all walked down the aisle of pews slowly, guns aimed in each direction. Half way down, Rick stopped. He looked at the floor and holstered his assault shotgun. He looked sadly at the floor and picked up something left behind. He lifted up the minigun, barely able to keep it in his hands. Not many people could lift something with such weight, but Rick knew how strong Tyrone was, and he felt that in his memory, he would carry his weapon into battle.

Jenine gave him a skeptical look, "Rick, do you actually plan on carrying that? It's huge!"

"I have the feeling that we're going to need it. I mean, why wouldn't we? We're definitely going to run into something on the way to the school. Speaking of which… How far is this place?"

Aden checked his PDA, "Huh."

"What?"

"We're only a block and a half away. How did they hole up there so well for so long in such a crowded place?"

"Doesn't matter, let's go get them."

* * *

><p>Within a few minutes and absolutely no fighting, the three made it to the high school. It was fairly large, and it was obviously occupied, as humans patrolling makeshift barricades around the gymnasium with any guns or weapons they could find. The team stayed out of sight for now, taking cover near a building.<p>

"Ok, does anyone think that if we get close, that they'll shoot us?" Rick asked nervously.

Jenine also kept a nervous tone, "We don't know what outsiders have done to them so far… They may try to attack us. We got to convince them we're trying to help them before they do try to kill us.

Aden clicked his tongue, "Let me go first, I don't carry much weapons, so I'll be seen as less of threat. Besides, if Rick went they'd be scared shi-"

_Ksssshhhhhhhtt._

Everyone froze. Aden retrieved something from his backpack and placed it down in front of everyone. Everyone looked at each other as the radio stayed silent. He flicked on the communication's switch and waited. Nothing happened for a moment.

Jenine looked side to side, "So I wasn't the only one to hear that?"

"No, I heard it too. This can't be good…"

Aden's interest was piqued, "What are you guys talking about? It's just probably Command trying to reach us."

Rick sighed in an exasperated tone, "Of course it's Command! That's the problem! They _never_ contact us during a mission, _never_! This does not seem good, not in the fuckin' least!"

"Calm down, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about…" Jenine comforted while patting Rick on the back.

With a skeptical look, Aden asked, "Wait… They never contact you? Isn't that a bit unsafe?"

"No. You see, governments are quick to crack communications if it comes through their territory, and we just happen to be in Finnish territory. Who knows how many Russian, Chinese, or Cuban subs are just hiding in these waters, listening to every goddamn word we might say over the air. We have to be careful, or else they might come looking for us. I swear, the Commune's agents are fucking everywhere now. We may have signed a treaty back after the Congressional Wars, but we're still at each other's necks. This shit will _never_ end."

Aden gave a thoughtful look, "You were in the Congressional Wars?"

Rick sighed again, now with more tragedy in it, "Yeah, and it was really costly and dangerous. God," he put his hands on his face while looking up, "I don't even know how many people died. What a fucking massacre. And the things we did," he shuddered, "I never want to do them again."

"Don't get me started on that shit. My squad was one of the first sent in during the Siege of Belgrade. I don't know how any of us survived that, there were bodies and blood everywhere… I despise Congressman Rodriguez for getting us involved in this shit. What was he thinking when he ordered that operation? He knew it would have started something! And yet, he still did it. Sick bastard… Millions dead because of him… And he's still alive _and_ in office too. That's the kicker."

"Damn, you were there during Belgrade? You're not so bad new guy. I mean, Aden."

Jenine smiled at their unusual form of bonding. They laughed but were cut short by the radio once more. Everyone looked down at it and waited. This time though, they heard actual words.

"TTG, report in on your current situation. Over."

Rick looked between Aden and Jenine and pulled the microphone to his mouth.

"Roger Command, we've received you. Our current situation is less than fine right now, but we are continuing on with the mission. We've lost three team members, and are currently on route to the last defensive position of any of the island's citizens. Over."

There was silence for a moment.

"Rick."

He raised a brow, "Hello?"

"Do you know who this is?"

"No."

"This is Agency Director Defoe. We've been monitoring everything so far on that island except for the underground. We have new orders for you and the remaining members of your team."

"_My team_?"

"Yes, your team. After we lost life signals from Agent Buchanan, we were forced to put you in place as team leader, due to lack of any other more experienced agent. Congratulations."

Rick was in awe. He couldn't believe that not only had he made a major step towards his freedom, but he had taken the place of his mentor. He felt guilty and giddy at the same time.

"Are you still there? Report in."

Rick shook his head to clear it, "Yeah, yeah, we're here."

"Good, because we have new orders for you. You are no longer tasked with a search-and-rescue."

The team gave each other looks of interest.

"You mean you're sending in reinforcements to retrieve the survivors?"

"Negative."

Rick's blinked as Jenine gasped and Aden rubbed his eyes.

"Then… What exactly _are_ we going to do about them?"

"Your new orders are to silence all witnesses and survivors. Let no one survive and no one escape."

Rick guffawed incredulously, "Are you _serious?_ We're not going to kill innocent people! We need to save them, not slaughter them!"

There was another silence.

"Your orders have been given to you. Follow them or you will suffer the consequences. Don't forget, you gave Agent Buchanan your word. Don't let him die in vain."

Rick didn't know what to say. He stopped and looked down gravely.

"Roger. Orders received."

"You will continue Operation Midnight Sun. Use of deadly force is authorized, leave nothing left behind. Over and out."

Rick dropped the microphone on the floor and looked pleadingly at his team. They, however, could give no comfort even for themselves.

Aden frowned, "Do we really have to do this? God, this'll be like Belgrade all over again…"

"I- I can't do that! These aren't the Commune; most of these people are American citizens!"

Rick pulled of his makeshift skullcap, an upwards folded balaclava, off the top of his head. He ran his fingers through his hair and put away the balaclava. He took out the beret and placed it on his head, straightening it. He looked at his teammates and spoke only one word.

"Yes."

* * *

><p>"Ok, Aden, you know what to do right?"<p>

"Yeah Rick, plant the C-7 at the designated spots. It's simple enough, as much as I don't want to do it."

"Good. Remember, we're here for a reason. Jenine, you're the most important part of this plan. I hope you _know_ the plan."

"Yes, I do. Don't worry; I'll do my best to distract them long enough for you guys to close in."

A thought suddenly came across Aden's mind.

"Wait a second… If they're going to use a wiper nuke on this island anyway, why are we _killing these people_?"

Rick paused, thinking it over for a moment.

"You'll just have to ask when we get back. Ok, so you guys know where you have to be when we start taking down targets right?"

"Well, I'm going to go inside for a bit talking it up with them, and I know Aden will be at the other end of the gymnasium to block any retreats. But you never told us where you're going to be."

Rick pointed at the roof, "The skylights."

Aden raised a brow, "How exactly do you plan on getting up there with that minigun?"

Rick chuckled and looked at Jenine, "Using Jenine, of course."

With a bewildered look, Aden turned from Rick to Jenine. She shrugged her shoulders and patted Rick on the back.

"You'll see soon Aden. It should be fun."

Without a second thought, Rick got on top of the minigun like a surfboard.

"Ok, let's do this."

* * *

><p>"Oh my god! This shit is amazing!"<p>

Rick was flying through the air at breakneck speeds on top of a minigun towards the roof of a gymnasium, and he _liked_ it. To him, this seemed closer to normal than the entirety of his day so far, but he wasn't one to complain at this point. He just wanted to enjoy the brief moment of freedom as his face rippled and contorted against the wind. He spat, dislodging a fly that hit his teeth.

Despite his obviousness in approaching the high school's gymnasium roof, he hadn't even been noticed by anyone as his sister walked towards the entrance with her hands up. He touched down within a moment, landing with a thud and loud screech as the minigun slid across the concrete roof. He grabbed his hand-held radio off of his belt and flicked it on.

"Aden, you there?"

"Yeah, just setting up the final explosives. Shouldn't take long now. And by the way, nice air time." Chuckling could be heard through the radio.

"You're jealous aren't you? You wish you could fly through the sky like me," Rick laughed back.

"Yeah, right. You could have broken your neck doing that."

"But I didn't. Anyway, hit me up when everything is done."

"Ok, will do."

Rick put away his radio, only to be forced to take it out again when he heard Aden.

"Rick."

"Yeah?"

"I'm done."

"Quick work. Alright, get to the exit and wait for the signal. You'll know when you start hearing gunfire."

"Roger that, I'll just wait here."

Rick put away his radio again and dragged the minigun to the skylight. He watched as Jenine talked with what Rick assumed was the leader of the survivors. He was tall, lanky, and had a scar across the left side of his face. After ten minutes of waiting, Rick gave in to boredom and picked out his radio again.

"Jenine, get back to the entrance and take out the guards, we are doing this _now_. The sun is going to go down soon, and we don't need that. Hurry."

He didn't need to worry about any survivors hearing him talk, due to Jenine using a tactical headset. He looked back down and saw her leave, right before shaking hands with the leader. Rick moved to a better angle and watched as she silently killed each guard with her silenced submachine gun. Within a few seconds, three people were already dead.

"Ok, this exit is covered."

"Gotcha Jenine. Aden?"

A sigh could be heard through the radio, "None of these poor bastards will get past me."

"Guys, I realize what we're about to do should never be done at all, but the Agency would not give us these orders without a good reason. We have to follow through; it's our job."

There was silence again as Rick could hear screaming coming from beneath him.

"Jenine, what happened?"

"We've been compromised! Give me covering fire from the roof Rick!"

Rick lifted the minigun and slammed it against the skylight, dropping glass onto civilians under him. Some looked up, getting shard in their eyes, only to bringing louder screams from more people. He could hear gunshots as his sister fought against at least a dozen armed survivors. He clamped the minigun into place and began spinning it up as Aden burst through the doors opposite Jenine, firing off his shotgun into the crowds of unarmed civilians.

Rick began firing quickly, taking down troves of people and guards in the process. Some tried firing back, but he quickly cut down resistance, giving him easy shots at any living person. He felt horrible guilt as he gunned down a family of four, two children included, without a second though. He wasn't the only one making carnage however.

Firing with precision, Jenine took out anyone approaching her or any easy target. She nearly cried as she put down an elderly couple trying to run away, into a corner. Holding back her emotion, he continued firing her submachine gun. She kept a straight face as she caught a little girl trying to sneak past her, putting a single bullet into her head.

Aden was firing his combat shotgun into the crowd to a great effect. Most were easily brought down by a stray bullet, giving his team a chance for an easy kill on any injured innocent. When his shotgun eventually ran out of ammo, he began using the Black Kite instead, using its amazing stopping power, accuracy, and penetration to its fullest. He used a single bullet to bring down four people that were running away, as he grimaced at the sight.

It was a bloodbath. There were practically no survivors of the roughly five hundred or so civilians, save for a few unlucky ones that were only injured or playing dead. Rick unclamped his minigun and dropped it off the side of the roof. Using a hook and rope, he descended the side of the building and hit the floor. He walked into the gymnasium and looked over the complete destruction of all the hope that any survivor on this island had. Within a matter of minutes, they had done what a full-blown infection couldn't. They killed off all remaining innocent civilians.

Aden walked over from the opposite side and handed Rick a trigger before exiting the gymnasium. Jenine followed suit, as did Rick, while grabbing the minigun. When they reached the building they took refuge in earlier, Rick held the trigger and slowly pressed down on the red button on top. Loud explosions could be heard not far from them, followed by the sounds of a crashing building. Everyone looked at each other with guilt and regret, further depressing them.

Rick spoke up, "Listen, I know what we did is wrong, but we had to follow our orders. Are you guys ok?"

Jenine nodded sadly, "We're horrible."

Rick put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly, "No, we're _soldiers_. It comes with the job. We were just following orders."

Aden spat at the floor and grunted, "Some orders…"

Rick sighed, "Look, I'm going to ask Command on what to do next. Don't kill yourselves while I'm gone."

Rick left the two and carried the larger radio to a separate room and placed it on a desk with some blood splatters. He sat down at a chair and flicked the radio on. It normally wasn't procedure to ever contact Command, but things were looking grim for him and his team, and no extraction point was ever set. This did worry him, but he would get the location easily enough.

"This is TTG Squad Leader reporting in, over."

Silence ensued for a few moments.

"Roger, we receive you. Report, over."

"We have successfully eliminated the last human encampment. Requesting coordinates for extraction location, over."

"Roger on the objective. Have you retrieved the data, over?"

"That's a positive, Command. Over."

Another eerie silence came about.

"You have two hours for evac before the bring-down, proceed to this location immediately and wait for orders, over."

Rick raised a brow, "Roger that, location, over?"

"Testing Labs, Block A, Room 0036 of the main facility. Quickest route is the same you've used before, over."

"Back into the main facility, over?"

"Roger. The main facility, over."

Rick grew slightly suspicious. "Roger that, over and out."

He got up and flicked off the radio, taking it back to the other room. He dropped it as soon as he saw the horror in front of him. There sat Jenine and Aden, kissing and comforting each other.

"What… the… fuck…"

They split quickly as soon as the radio hit the floor and alerted them to his presence.

"I- I- I didn't even see shit!" He became more anxious as he handed the radio back to Aden, right before he walked out the door. Both Jenine and Aden gave each other nervous looks as they followed Rick out the door.

Jenine caught up with him and spoke, "Listen, Rick, about what just happened…"

He held his palm to her, "Stop. It never happened. Let's just make this as one of the things we'll put behind ourselves today. Now let's get back to the labs, right now."

He continued walking a brisk pace to the church.

* * *

><p>Within twenty minutes, they were back at the same hospital looking scene deep in the facility. Nothing changed in the <em>least.<em> For whatever reason, both humans and mutants must be avoiding most of the facility and its various hallways. For humans, it would be understandable, but why were mutants so keen on not coming here? Nothing good could come from that.

They reached the elevators again, as they descended the shaft one more time. Despite only having roughly an hour and a half left to evac off the island, they all took their time as they made their way lower into the facility. There was no reason to rush right now, at least, for them there wasn't.

They hit the bottom of shaft and walked through the hole made previously by Aden. Reaching for his PDA, Aden guided the way back down to the test labs' Block A. It wasn't very hard to find the specific area they needed to find, with the help of the maps at least. They soon arrived at the atrium that connected the bottom floor of the facility, where they were met with a gruesome, if not surprising scene. The large atrium was some kind of battleground, littered with the bodies of not only the mutated bodies of poor citizens, but the bodies of fallen security officers and guards. It must have ended in a stalemate, or maybe the one side came out victorious only to leave behind the dead.

Hundreds of holes hit the wall, along with all the mutants. The rib cages and heads of security were torn open or crushed, with their limbs tossed around like some kind of human salad. By the bodies of some of the officers were some pretty unconventional weapons that no one of the team had seen before. Jenine walked over to the nearest guard and picked up the odd gun in her hands.

She looked it over; it seemed to be some kind of rifle. Satisfied, she aimed it at a wall. Both Aden and Rick watched intently at what was to come. She pulled the trigger and was knocked off her feet and right onto her back. A fat green beam of light screeched from the barrel of the gun and burnt straight through the wall, going deeper than they could possibly see. She groaned from hitting the floor and got up, leaving the gun behind.

She laughed weakly, "It has some kick. Whatever _it_ is."

Rick smiled and grabbed the weapon off the floor, taking a hold of it. He inspected it, taking note of each detail. He then tossed it to Aden, who caught it easily.

"Yeah, so what is it?"

Aden had his turn of looking it over and came to a conclusion, "Um, some kind of rail gun or something? I don't how it works, but it was probably something developed in the labs. Laser maybe? The boys back at the Agency might want one of these." He stopped to consider that, "God… Just think of the step up we'll have over everyone else… I wonder what other things they were working on."

Aden gave back the rifle to Rick before walking over to the body of another security officer. He patted down the body, looking for anything interesting. On the back end of the belt of the officer was something peculiar. It looked almost like a CO2 canister, but had bands of green light going up it towards what was the nozzle. He picked it off the body and looked it over. There was a syringe-like object clipped onto it. He reached the bottom end of it and found some instructions written in English.

"Let's see… Bio-Medical Gel… Experimental… Hmm, fixes the worst and most crippling of injuries? Step one, remove syringe. Step two, press syringe into nozzle. Step three, pull stopper back. Step four, remove syringe. Step five, inject gel into afflicted/traumatized wound. Step six, remove syringe from wound and let gel set. Step seven, get back into the action," he raised a brow at that last part, "Get back into the action? This _must_ be good stuff. It's like it was made to be stamped with a TTG sticker."

Rick took it from Aden's hands and looked at him, "Let's save this one and cook up some of it back at the Agency's labs."

"Guys, it's not a cake, you can't just bake it!"

"We have all the information on Aden's PDA Jenine. It'll be a cinch."

Aden looked through his PDA, "Yeah, it shouldn't be hard." He squinted at the screen, "Huh."

"What?"

"Apparently, this stuff is alive. It's a self-multiplying organism or something. Feeds on dead tissue. It's made from stem cells. Let's see… Oh, and it replaces all the dead or missing tissue in the area it's in. How the hell does that work? Sounds like a cancer maybe? I wonder what the side-effects to this stuff are…"

Flustered, Jenine cut him off, "Can we please just get out of here? We could waste time coming over here, but we can't when we're this far in! We don't know what we'll run into here! Just look at the security's last stand, they didn't get very lucky! We need to move, _now_!"

Rick groaned, "Ugh, fine. Let's get out of this huge ass place and find room 0036, wherever the hell that is."

Jenine and Rick began walking towards a hallway labeled "Block A", not instantly taking notice of someone missing from their group. They turned to find Aden standing still, not making a move. Jenine moved to him after giving a concerned look to Rick.

"Aden, are you ok?"

"…"

"Aden?"

"Do you hear that?"

"What?"

"_That!_ Did you hear it?"

Rick shown his flashlight onto Aden's face, moving it around like a doctor would to a patient, "You ok?"

"Stop that, and yeah. Just listen for a second."

All three listened quietly to the seemingly non-existent noises. After a few moments, nothing happened. Just as Rick was about to give up, a barely audible noise was heard from somewhere.

"What the hell?"

"You hear it?"

"Yeah, what is that?"

"Sounds like a mutant."

"No… there's something else. Guns? I heard guns being fired."

"Exactly. Someone is still alive in the facility, and my guess it's a security guard. Or a rouge scientist."

"Keller?" Jenine asked.

Aden shook his head, "I don't know, he might not have survived this long."

During their talking, they hadn't noticed the sounds growing louder and closer. Rick threw up his hand to break up the conversation.

"Wait! Hear that? Whatever's coming is getting closer. Everyone get ready!"

They each pointed their weapons in at the source of the commotion, a certain hallway farther down the atrium to be exact. There was more gunfire, followed by screams and roars that echoed off the walls, echoing. It took less than ten seconds for the noise to come out of the hallway, which was followed by something so incredible, it made their jaws nearly drop.

Out came a single man armored in a security uniform, Kevlar vest, and a ballistic helmet with visor down. He backpedaled while firing at the wave of mutants crawling and running at him. He was able to take down plenty, but that wasn't enough to make him safe. The swarm eventually thinned, but coordinated themselves to surround the man in a circle. He flipped around and ran forward, firing straight. His gun clicked, indicating his current situation had just gone even sourer.

He strapped it to his back and pulled out a machine pistol, still pushing forward to the wall. He ran as fast as he could despite being swarmed from all sides, and he fought for his life in the few moments he had been in front of the team. His pistol eventually ran out of ammo, forcing him to holster it. He retrieved two things from his sides, taking a heavy security baton in his left hand, and a large bowie knife in the other. He forced himself through the last line of the mutated citizens in front of him, knocking down anything that came close.

It was almost graceful how he spun around mutants trying to snatch him, or how he used a swimming like motion to push back anything that closed in too fast. But that wasn't the point; the point was he actually made it to his destination fairly quickly. He ran to the wall and smashed at something, then turned to face the crowd. He pulled out a grenade, primed it, then threw it at the approaching mutants, all while bracing himself to be hit by meaty chunks. It exploded, sending various body parts his way as he pushed away various mutants.

He yelled out, "This is one meeting I _won't_ be late for!"

He turned his head, and a final shove, knocked back the group attacking him. He walked back into the wall, going through. The team moved to another angle to see he had gone into an elevator, and was in fact escaping. The zombie-like mutants weren't quick enough to stop the doors from closing as they clawed in vain at them. Suddenly, realization hit Rick.

"That asshole left us with these things! What the fuck?"

Jenine laughed, "How about this: we shoot them. Problem solved."

Jenine pulled up her SMG as Rick lifted up the heavy rifle into his arms.

But before they could fire, Aden intervened, "Wait! Stop for a second! I want to try something out."

Rick scoffed, "What the hell could you possibly want to do right now other than shoot at these things?"

Aden kneeled down and placed his backpack in front of him. He began rummaging for a few seconds, before pulling out a landmine. He placed his backpack back on and held the mine in one hand.

"This."

He activated it, and with a flick of the wrist, made it fly like a heavy Frisbee at the not too distant group of rotting flesh in front of them. It flew surprisingly well, despite its weight, and it managed to land right at the back of the group. As it touched down on the ground, the mutants began losing their interest in the elevator door, letting them actually check their surroundings. One wobbled over to the mine, stepping and slipping on it at the same time, sending it directly into the crowd.

It didn't slide for long though, as it blew up in a fiery explosion within a second of the mutant slipping on it. It launched nearly all of the mutated civilians into the air in a calamity of body parts. After a moment of flying, everything came down like it was raining organs and arms, hitting the floor in some disgusting, but surprisingly funny sounds.

Rick and Aden both began cracking up at the scene, completely disregarding any thoughts on surviving mutants.

Rick slapped Aden lightly on the shoulder, "HAH! OH GOD! Amazing! A-Fucking-Mazing stuff right there! Did you know that would happen?"

Aden shook his head while laughing, "Nah, nah, but that was some luck! Did you see that shit? Oh man, it was like a circus act or something! Man, that had me _dying_!"

Jenine looked from them to the mutants, obviously not amused, "You guys do realize that some of them aren't dead right?"

They both stopped and looked at the half-blown up mutants crawling towards them. Rick chuckled, "Pathetic looking bastards."

Aden and Rick moved to the group and starting firing their weapons in a clean sweep. The creatures screamed in agony and hatred, but to them, it was only noise. One managed to get towards Aden's ankle, fruitlessly scratching at his armored boots. He gave a look to Rick, then proceeded to curb stomp its head into the tile floor. With enough force, he managed to cave its skull into a disgusting smelling mix of brain matter, flesh, bone, and two eyes.

He lifted his foot to look at it as Rick pointed at it, "I think you got something on your shoe."

"Really? I wonder what."

They laughed and then finished off the rest of the weakened mutants littering the floor. When they were done, Aden looked around the atrium to see if they missed anything. Something caught his eye however, something high up. Far above the reception desks and right under the ceiling were large windows. He wondered how he didn't notice these before, but the atrium was fairly large and tall in height, so it was understandable.

He backed up to get a better look, and squinted his eyes. He could make out three figures looking down at him, but he couldn't distinguish any recognizable features. He pulled out his binoculars and looked at the silhouettes, instantly recognizing each of them. He pulled them back and yelled to the rest of his team, "GUYS! GET OVER HERE!"

Jenine and Rick rushed over quickly, guns out.

"What? What the hell's wrong?"

"Yeah Aden, what are you so antsy over?"

"Get out your binoculars, and look into that window."

"What? What wind-", Rick stopped himself for a moment to look, "Hmm. When did that get there?"

Jenine tried looking at the figures, but to no avail, "Who is that?"

"Like I said, use your binoculars. Trust me, this _will_ surprise you."

Skeptical, both Rick and Jenine retrieved their binoculars from their either their backpacks or belts. When Rick saw through it, his head visibly went back a little in surprise. Jenine was more discreet, but she was obviously just as surprised.

Rick pulled the binoculars from his eyes, "Keller? And that security guard from a few minutes ago? How the hell did Keller get here? And who the hell is that third guy?"

Jenine put away her binoculars, "He looks… familiar. Do we know him?"

Aden laughed uneasily, "Oh yeah. _Everyone_ knows _him._ You guys definitely do. Just think."

Rick prodded his mind and memories for some kind of indication that he knew the third man. Finding nothing, he simply shrugged.

"Nah, I don't think I do."

Aden sighed to himself, "That, right up there, is Dr. Jack Becket."

Rick's eyes widened for a moment as he gave a short laugh, "Heh, what? Becket? Dr. Becket has been gone for over a year now. He can't be here."

But sure enough, as Rick looked back at the man, it was in fact the same person Aden recognized.

Jenine looked through her binoculars again, "He's right! It's Dr. Becket! But… How is he here?"

Aden shook his head, "I honestly don't know, I mean, after the accident, everyone thought he was gone forever."

Rick winced, "I had the feeling that whole project would mess up somewhere. Why did he want to be his own test subject though? He could have lived and continued if he just sent someone else!"

"But Rick, look! He _is_ alive! And he's here! What does that mean though? Why _would_ he be here?"

They all looked back to see that the three men above them had finished talking and now were apparently shaking hands. The team watched as Becket pulled his forearm in front of him and pressed buttons on an odd device attached to it. He pointed it in front of him and let loose a glob of energy that stood still midair near him.

"Whoa. What the fuck is that?"

"I don't know Rick, I don't know."

They saw Becket motion for the two other men to walk into it, to which he must have gotten some funny looks. Somewhat reluctant, they still walked into the large orb of energy one at a time. As Keller went in first, so did the security guard as well, while Becket returned in front of the glass window to look down at the three far below him. He shook his head in an almost disappointed way, and then proceeded to walk into the same mass of energy the other two had gone into. Then, in a blinding flash, it was gone. The mass of energy simply disappeared, leaving no trace of evidence behind.

Jenine, flabbergasted, asked the question everyone was wondering, "Where did they just go?"

Rick stared at the windows before turning to Aden, "Looks like Project Quantum Jump really _did_ work. That son of a bitch is leaping and teleporting right now."

Aden laughed uneasily, "Yeah, and who would have guessed he'd be able to actually perfect that thing? Now he's free to whatever he wants; now no one can chase him."

Jenine spoke with hints of envy, "So he's never been dead this whole time? He's been alive and not working for the government? He's just been jumping through time and space with free will? I wish I could do that."

Rick shrugged, "Doesn't everyone? Anyway, let's get the hell out of here, we're wasting time."

And with that, they walked down Block A of the lowest level of the facility.

* * *

><p>"Let's see, Room 0032, Room 0034, and here we are: Room 0036. I wonder what the hell they were researching here. Does the PDA say anything Aden?"<p>

Aden sifted through the information on his PDA, "Yeah, it says they were experimenting on some kind of genetic super soldier mumbo jumbo. Hah, looks like they couldn't get it right for like, 40-something times. Over 40 people were executed because they were compromised by the gas they used. Must have been one _helluva_ transformation for them to be executed. I feel sorry for any poor bastard who got exposed to this stuff."

"Yeah, well how about we just go in and contact the Agency?"

Jenine laughed, "Yeah, I'd actually to get out of here _today._"

Rick, Aden and Jenine walked through the double doors leading down into a flight of stairs. They walked down carefully, watching for anything that may pop out. Within a few moments, they were already at the bottom to another pair of double doors. Making their way through these, they found themselves in a large room, roughly the size of the atrium they were recently at. The sheer size of the facility was amazing, and the island kept it surprisingly well hidden.

Lining the walls were large metal canisters labeled and numbered according to their time of manufacturing, each followed by a clear tube; some filled with liquid, some empty, but all lacked anything solid inside. These were obviously where the science teams conducted their experiments, evidenced by the various scientific equipment all around the area. Cat walks hung from the ceiling, creaking and squeaking with every motion. Opposite of them, on the far wall, was another doorway, most likely leading them to their destination.

Rick scratched his head at the sight, "Huh, these guys were pretty legit with their work."

"A bit too legit," Jenine responded in a disgusted tone.

They walked farther down, taking in the area, ready to pull out their weapons at any moment. After some walking, an odd sound could be heard coming from somewhere above. Maniacal laughing could be heard now, echoing and booming off the walls. They pulled out their weapons and scanned the area over, finding nothing at all. Rick caught something fly over them and through the air as he flipped around to see a fat pipe bomb hit the doorway, bringing it down to a large pile of rubble, effectively cutting off their escape. He turned to find the source of the laughing, a man on top of the cat walks wearing a vest loaded with explosives.

"HAHAHA! YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN YOUR FACES WHEN I DID THAT! PRICELESS!"

Before responding the team looked over the odd man that flung an explosive past them. He was very skinny, but made up for it in height. His hair was short, but messy. His eyes were bloodshot and his face full of life as he began laughing again with all his heart. His clothing was oddly different, as he wore dress clothing and suspenders, lacking a coat. He ran his fingers through his hair and put his elbows on the rail of the cat walk with a grin.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here? Three new guests to join in on our fun? Government? Invisible Men. Yes. One moment. VICTOR!"

A faint mumbling could be heard, coming from no direction in particular.

"Start boiling some water for tea, we have guests! And they aren't going anywhere any time soon, so get some snacks!"

More mumbling creeped around the room.

"NO! THE GOOD CHINA! ARE YOU CRAZY?"

Nothing responded, but the man was heaving loudly, grabbing at his face in an effort to calm himself down. He noticed the people staring at him as he tried to play off his meltdown by running his fingers through his hair again and laying his arms on the catwalk.

He grinned uneasily, "I'm sorry for that, Victor can be quite anti-social at times. I never understood why really, we've always went out to have fun. Don't mind him please, he can't help it. So, my esteemed guests, what brings you to our abode?"

Rick coughed just as uneasily, "Uhh, yeah, we were told to come here."

The tall man gave a shocked face, "Oh my! Marvelously remarkable! And who was it that invited you three? Surely someone had given you the order to arrive here, right?"

"I don't think you know him, he's on a different continent."

"Well of course Dexter is on another continent, he _does_ work for the U.S. government after all."

Rick gave a short laugh in surprise, "You know Defoe? That's pretty coincidental."

The young man raised his eyebrow, "Why's that? He _is_ my uncle, you know."

"Uhh…"

"Oh I understand… He sent you to kill me did he? That lowlife! Why else would he send the TTG here? As a cleanup crew? HAH! As if! That conniving bastard! He never did like me, and I always knew it!"

"Actually, he sent us here for extraction. I don't know how the hell we're going to leave from here, but those were our orders."

A glint came into the eye of the man as realization came to him, "Ahh. I truly understand your situation now. He must have had you using the Displacer as his idea. Risky idea in my opinion. But know this, we won't allow you to use it! Technology like that must never leave here! Using it can very well destroy the fabric of time and space with only the smallest of malfunctions! Please understand when I ask you to leave. Which is right now. Will you please leave?"

The team looked at each other in confusion at the weird young man Rick was having a conversation with. He had obviously lost his mind, and it showed in his actions and words. He seemed paranoid, yet conscious about his appearance. With fake pleading eyes, he looked down at the three still considering what he had said.

Aden scratched as his chin, "Displacer? I thought that project was abandoned a long time ago."

The man laughed in surprise, "Oh hello! You seem to know your information! Yes, the Displacement Project has long since been abandoned, but a few scientists have been poking around old notes and such, the result being a whole new project dedicated to it! Amazing! There is room for improvement, I'll admit that, but my do they make quick work! They already have a prototype back there," he pointed a finger to the doors on the far back wall, "and it seems fully functional!"

Rick stepped in, "So why can't we use it?"

The man's face cracked a little twitch, before he chuckled nervously, "Well as I already said, it's dangerous to the universe."

Aden considered that, "I actually doubt that the Displacer would harm the universe, we just saw someone use a handheld displacement device. The only thing that it did was make a flash. Do you even know how this stuff works?"

Becoming less calm, the man frowned deep in annoyance, "YES! I mean, I've read the notes! Well… maybe skimmed is a better word… But still! You don't realize the consequences of such things!"

Rick moved closer, pointing an accusing finger, "YOU don't know how this stuff works! Nothing is wrong with it! You're just an idiot who's scared of something that he doesn't understand!"

The man grabbed at his hair in anger and frustration, "WHAT! HOW DARE YOU EVEN IMPLY ANY OF THAT! VICTOR! FORGET THE TEA! LET'S ENTERTAIN OUR GUESTS!"

Laughing maniacally now, the man ran down the catwalk and away from the three. He stopped halfway down and pointed to a line of canisters.

"VICTOR! PLEASE COME OUT AND MEET OUR GUESTS! HAHAH!"

From behind some canisters walked out a slightly younger, more saddened looking man. His face drooped down depressingly while bags were under his eyes. Those same eyes held no feeling in them, other than a misunderstood sorrow. He was dressed in shorts, flip-flops and a T-shirt. His hair wasn't very long, and he wasn't very muscular at all. He seemed pretty lackluster for the most part, and how he managed to survive the infection must have been an intriguing story..

"Yes?"

"VICTOR! GO! TEACH THESE SONS OF GUNS WE DON'T MESS AROUND!"

Victor, as was his name, sighed deeply while keeping his head down, "Do I have to, Kane? Can't we just let them take the Displacer?"

The man atop the catwalks, Kane, shook his head in a furious surprise, "NO! NOW YOU TAKE CARE OF THEM ON THE GROUND WHILE I DO MY THING FROM UP HERE!"

"Fine," Victor sighed again.

Rick laughed, "What's he going to do? Read us depressing poetry until we die? HAH!"

Victor backed up and made himself smaller, obviously not wanting to fight.

"Please stop making fun of me."

"Or what?"

Kane stomped his foot down, "VICTOR! DO NOT TAKE HIS INSULTS, ATTACK!"

Victor slowly walked forward and up to Rick. Rick kept a smirk on as he watched the young man get close. Victor stopped in front of Rick, his arms no longer crossed, but now at his sides, moving oddly. Rick raised a brow in confusion as he watched the person in front of him change his arm, in a sense. It bubbled, changed, morphed and rearranged itself within seconds. He was literally transforming his arms.

"What the hell…"

They took on their new form quickly and intimidatingly. Within a few seconds, Victor's upper limbs changed from arms to large scythe like objects. Rick's eyes widened, as he ducked right in the nick of time, barely missing the sharp arm of the man. He fell ass first backwards, and swept Victor's leg, dropping him to the floor as well. Both Aden and Jenine aimed their weapons at the man as Rick got back onto his feet.

"Go ahead. Put some bullets in my head and try to end my suffering."

Rick kicked him in the face, "You don't even fucking _know_ what suffering is!"

Getting back up, Victor looked deeply at Rick, "You may have had it worse than me, but we both have the same problem. You know what I'm talking about."

Rick was taken aback by even being compared to the monster of a human in front of him. What relation could they possibly have together?

"I don't care what you're talking about," he pulled out his pistol and aimed it at Victor's head, "but a bullet should fix yours."

He pulled the trigger, shooting Victor in the face point-blank. Victor fell backwards, landing on his back with a loud thump. Rick grimaced when he saw that his eyes were still blinking and his chest was still moving.

"This… is not good."

"Do you see what I'm talking about? Neither of us can die, for our own reasons. I don't know yours, but I can see something. I can see it in your eyes, and past that. You feel like you're being expected to do things for everyone and still get no credit, right? I used to feel that way. Now look at me. I'm a monster, a disgusting and revolting perversion of what was once human. It's a curse. The curse of those stuck between being clean and dirty. Safe and infected. You must have run into others. My brother isn't like me though, he isn't infected. He simply lost his mind. I don't know why, and I probably will never know. But this Displacer means a lot to him. And for that, I'm willing to fight with him. So please, leave. Neither of us wants to fight, but you're leaving us no choice. Leave."

As his speech ended, he was thrown back again, another bullet landing between his eyes. He laid there; waiting as his flesh overlapped the area the bullet had went through. Rick moved to his side, kneeling down with a gun in his hand.

"Don't _ever_ fucking compare yourself to me, you freak. We're nothing alike. And don't try to understand my situation. My life isn't yours to observe."

Rick got up and moved away from the half-infected young man. Both of these odd people they encountered here must have at least been in their early twenties. But that didn't mean they were going to go easy on them. Rick flipped around when he heard the sound of something hissing, to find that the other person, Kane, had lit another pipe bomb.

"HIT THE FLOOR!" Rick barked loudly.

Kane threw the pipe bomb, making it fly and land dangerously close to the team. All three of them leaped at the ground, covering themselves desperately. Rick threw up his riot shield and gave it to Jenine. The pipe bomb exploded, shaking the room, but missing everyone. As Rick looked up, he found that Victor had run away and was going in between various tubes and other scientific equipment.

Rick pounded his fist against the floor in anger, "SHIT! Aden, go after him! Jenine, you're with me! We're taking down that bomb tossing bitch!"

Aden split from the group and gave chase to the depressed young man that tried connecting to Rick. He managed to follow him to a different area of tubes and canisters, this one forming almost like a hallway due to their parallel placement. He looked around quickly, making sure not to miss any slight detail as to where Victor was hidden. He heard gunshots from behind him, as he began desperately hoping that his team was alright.

Rick took back his shield and began firing at Kane, the man who so desperately wanted to protect technology he deemed too dangerous for human hands. The experimental rifle he had picked up cut holes through the catwalks and its grates, but missed its intended target entirely. After at least a dozen shots, he used the magnetic straps on his back to hold it as he took out his shotgun. It seemed a more effective idea to fire as many bullets as possible, in hopes of bringing down a madman strapped with bombs. He considered that; what if he shot a pipe bomb by mistake and forced them _all_ to explode? The result would most likely be the whole team and the two men crushed under a roof.

He put back the shotgun and replaced it with his pistol. He looked around quickly, trying to find an easy way up to the catwalk above. He ran over to a large tank and used the pipes around it to climb up to the top. He leaped over to the catwalk, pulling himself up quickly. As he went under the rail, he saw Kane light another pipe bomb, already pulling it back for a nice throw.

With no time to react, Rick curled up and deployed his shield in front of him. He waited that single second it would probably take for the bomb to knock him back, or worse. He closed his eyes tight in anticipation, but within a few seconds, opened them to realize nothing had happened other than Kane yelling loudly.

"WHAT THE FUCK?"

Rick watched as the pipe bomb floated in midair, the fuse stopped. He quickly looked down to see Jenine in her usual state when she was attempting to use her gift. With her face alit, she dropped the bomb to the floor before returning to normal.

Rick laughed at Kane's face, "Didn't expect that, huh asshole?" He turned back to Jenine, "Thanks, Sis," he said while giving a thumbs up.

She chuckled while shaking her head and then became serious again, "Rick, get him now!"

Rick flipped around to see Kane running off again. In some odd way, this irked Rick. 'What a pussy…' He gave chase while aiming his pistol at Kane's legs. It wasn't easy to run and gun, but Rick had practice with these kinds of things. Granted, the practice he had were less dangerous situations, but now was his time to apply what skills he had learned. Right as he was about to take his shot, he stopped. Gunshots could be heard not too far from him, and he swiveled around to locate Aden, a look of worry on his face.

Aden stopped in his tracks and looked at his surroundings. He was essentially in an extremely easy spot to be ambushed, and he knew it. More sweat started forming on his forehead as he kept a slow pace, aiming in every direction to keep him from being surprised. Suddenly, something tripped his sixth sense, something quick. He turned and dropped to the floor just in time to not be decapitated. Hitting the ground hard, he rolled away and got back onto his feet.

Victor stood opposite of him, his mood stuck somewhere between nonchalant and sad. He seemed like he _born_ to be a sad person. Aden shook the thoughts from his head and pointed his shotgun to Victor. With some kind of ease, Victor walked up to the barrel of the shotgun and waited. Aden began sweating more, but didn't fire. Victor scoffed and used an arm to slice the shotgun into pieces. Aden watched in a astounded horror as his weapon fell apart, becoming absolutely useless at this point.

He backed up as Victor began stepping closer, swinging his arm slowly at his side. Aden's mind raced at his next course of action, thinking up a storm of blank ideas that proved no use to him right now. Then it hit him; he had one last trick up his sleeve. He reached to his holster and ripped out the Black Kite. He pointed it at Victor and emptied the clip into his chest.

Victor fell down, recovering from the massive damage to his body. Aden took this time to back up and try to find something to kill what he thought was an invincible half-human. He reloaded his Desert Eagle, and aimed back at Victor. To his surprise, he was caught off guard at Victor already rushing at him with his right arm up, ready to be brought down into Aden's spinal cord. Aden ducked to the left, putting himself against a tank of gas.

Victor sighed, but continued his attack. He raised his arm again, this time bringing down quicker. However, Aden was quicker, and moved his head out of the way, barely making it. But when he heard hissing, he knew immediately that his troubles were about to get worse. Both of them looked quickly at Victor's arm, taking into account that it had pierced the tank and was releasing what must have been the experimental gas in large, uncontrolled amounts. Both were quickly covered in the gas, not able to escape it.

Aden and Victor began coughing immensely and uncontrollably, as both fell to the floor. Aden's vision blurred as he saw Victor trying to stay awake. What he didn't expect was the sudden change in his mood. Out of nowhere, Victor began screaming at the top of his lungs for no apparent reason. Aden focused his eyes just long enough to see that the gas was dissolving Victor's skin, and then going deeper until it burned through his body entirely. He didn't seem to regenerate like before, and this time, he stayed down as he was left a carcass rotting on the floor.

He tried to hold his breath, but his body forced him to take in as much of the gas as possible. Eventually, the gas dissipated, leaving only two people on the floor. Worry flashed through Aden's mind as he helplessly lay on the floor. He wondered if he would suffer the same fate and panicked. His body, however, didn't react in the slightest. He could only blink as his vision became less clear and darker. Eventually, he blacked out with his gun in his hand, lying next to the corpse of a madman.

Rick was chasing after Kane but stopped when he saw the extremely odd and dangerous man had suddenly stopped. Kane stood still, and then ran to the rails of the catwalk, looking out into the sea of equipment and tubes.

He pointed out and screamed, "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO VICTOR? YOU SICK MONSTER!" He turned to Rick and yelled out, "YOU BASTARDS! YOU WANT TO KILL US? WELL I'LL JUST KILL YOU FIRST!" He lit another pipe bomb and tossed it above Rick. It exploded midair, forcing parts of the ceiling to crumble and the wires holding the catwalk to come down, along with the catwalk itself.

Rick fell to the floor, hitting it hard enough to stun him for a moment. He got back up and watched as Kane ran to Aden, whom Jenine was now dragging to the doors at the end of the lab. Rick ran behind him, hoping that Kane wasn't going to attempt what he thought he was going to attempt. Jenine looked up to see Kane running at her quickly, forcing her to put down Aden.

Within a moment, she was in another state. Her face was shooting light as an arm flew forward, sending a kinetic blast at Kane. Kane flew across the room, landing against a tank of gas hard. He groaned loudly and got back up, ready to run back at them.

As Rick ran over to her, Jenine motioned her hand to Aden, "Take him! I can't carry him out fast enough! I'll cover you!"

Rick looked at her in surprise, "What? I can't let you fight him by yourself!"

She gave him a thoughtful look, "I can handle myself, don't worry. Now hurry! We need to get through those doors ASAP!" She pointed to the double doors at the end of the room, not too far from them.

Rick groaned and used a fireman carry to hold onto Aden. He grunted in dissatisfaction, "Goddamnit! How did he get knocked out? And what the hell is that thing on the floor?"

Jenine shook her head, "That's Victor. They were both exposed to that gas. I hope Aden's alright…" She looked at Kane, who was now half way to them. "Now go! I'll cover you!"

Rick nodded and carried Aden quickly towards the doors. Jenine backpedaled while firing kinetic blasts at Kane. Not many, if any, hit Kane. He was far too quick to be put down so easily, at least, not by nonlethal methods. Swiftly, he caught up to Jenine, just as Rick pushed past the doors and put down Aden against a wall.

Rick turned to see Kane trying to grapple Jenine. She fought back against the tall, young man. He seemed deceivingly strong despite his body structure. She pushed him back with enough force to give her a few feet of breathing room, her face paling as she saw what he had pulled from his pocket.

Kane held in his hand a detonator with the wire running into the vest over his suspenders. He grinned widely as he leaped forward again. Rick's eyes bulged as he realized what he was about to do.

"NO! WAIT!"

His yells were in vain as he watched Jenine throw her arms in front of her face defensively while it lit everything in front of her. The next thing he saw was a large explosion that racked the room horribly. Both Jenine and Kane were consumed by the flames of the explosions Rick couldn't see past. With an extremely distressed face, he looked at the crumbling ceiling. He knew what he had to do, even if he really didn't want to.

Rick moved over to Aden speedily, lifting him up over his shoulders. He began running as he watched the explosions getting closer. Whatever was in those tanks must have been highly explosive, because an earthquake seemed to be happening as probably the whole facility shook. He worried if the explosions would eventually get to him, but his question was answered as he noticed the narrow hallway he was running down. Sweat formed on his brow as he turned a corner and busted through another pair of doors.

He probably had only half a minute before both he and Aden would be baked to a fine and crispy meal. He put down Aden and scanned the lab, looking for whatever this Displacer was. His eyes brightened as they turned to a lab table with a large machine laid. It was bulky, green, gray and almost looked like a weapon in design. He lifted it quickly and looked for some kind of on switch. His hands felt underneath and found a trigger, worrying him about the true intention of this device.

He suddenly heard a loud ringing over the sounds of explosions, forcing him to look at Aden. He ran over, patting him down for something. Pulling out the PDA, he read a message from the Agency. He quickly memorized the coordinates, and then pressed them into the keypad on the side of the large experimental item. His mind racing, he aimed it away from Aden and himself, pulling the trigger quickly. Parts near the front of the device spun up and extended out, letting loose static electricity in various directions.

Silently praying to come out of this alive, Rick was slightly knocked back when a large clump of energy flew out of the Displacer and landed across from Aden. It shifted colors wildly, almost becoming rainbow like in appearance. He put the device back on the table as he lifted Aden onto his shoulders. Once he was secured, he grabbed the Displacer and forced himself to run into the mass of energy in front of him.

With a leap of faith, Rick's vision warped and contorted as he was thrust face forward into the hard asphalt of a parking lot. His jaw ached as Aden rolled off and in front of him. Rick looked at his surroundings and found himself in the same place he and his team were dropped off in. The area was desolate, with absolutely nothing alive other than him and Aden. He looked up to see it was somehow still day. The sun was still up, but he checked Aden's PDA just in case. It was midnight. He pushed figuring out how that was possible aside and got up, pulling out his radio and setting it up quickly.

He turned it on and began desperately calling in for help. He knew that he definitely didn't have much time before a nuclear warhead came crashing down on the island, and he franticly spoke to the operator of the radio on the other end.

"Roger that, the Osprey should arrive momentarily. Please stand by as it descends."

Rick wiped his brow in relief, "Oh thank god…"

As if on cue, he heard the Osprey near. It soon came into sight, and he felt utter happiness at such a wonderfully life-preserving sight. He began laughing as he checked Aden's pulse. When he felt it was normal, he began laughing harder. When the Osprey touched down in the parking lot, he got back up and dragged both Aden and the Displacer to it. As he started to load Aden in, he was met by an unexpected face.

"Director?"

"Agent Vali, good to see you. Now hurry up and get your ass in here, we have to move _now._ What's wrong with Von Kerzen?" He gave a suspecting look, "Is he infected? Be honest."

Rick shook his head, "No, but he came in contact with some kind of experimental gas. We're all that's left of the TTG, sir. No one else survived."

Rick's face began hardened, making the Director feel uncomfortable. He patted Rick on the back in comfort, but soon grew anxious when he looked passed Rick. His eyes focused tentatively as Rick turned around to see what had caught the Director's eye. He began stuttering uncontrollably as he saw the same creature that had killed Billy had arrived once again, now bigger and much more dangerous.

Director Defoe scoffed and pointed, "That's why we told you to go into the facility for evac. We saw that piece of shit on the satellites, and it was doing a damn good job of killing everything in sight. No discrimination, even for its own kind."

Rick stood in shock, "Aren't you even goddamn worried that that thing will kill us?"

The large monstrosity screamed loudly and closed in the gap.

The Director grabbed Rick's shoulder and pushed him inside the Osprey, "Don't worry, we're perfectly safe."

Rick stared in confusion as Director Defoe grabbed at the Displacer, hitting various switches like he had used one of them before. With an obvious expertise, he lifted it up and aimed it at the creature. He stopped for a moment, putting it down. He noticed Aden on the floor and grabbed him, lifting him up to Rick, "Come on soldier! WE ARE LEAVING!"

With that, he grabbed the Displacer and fired something truly amazing at the mutated collective of organisms. With much quicker speed than for Rick, the Displacer fired a blue and green orb of energy at the creature. It was large and flew fast to its target. The creature stopped dead in its tracks as it saw the orb approaching. It flailed wildly as it connected, forcing the orb to compress, and then expand into a massive and energized explosion followed by a large shockwave.

Rick watched in amazement as the creature exploded into tiny bits and pieces in a matter of seconds. He turned to Director Defoe, who placed the Displacer into the Osprey.

The Director smiled, "Pretty great huh? I guess that's what eggheads will come up with when you give them money."

Rick nodded in amusement and strapped Aden into a seat. The Director got into the Osprey and stored the Displacer in a compartment above the seats. He turned and went into the cockpit, tapping on the shoulder of the pilot to grab his attention. The Osprey began lifting off and flying away from the island while the Director and the pilot discussed the quickest route back without being in the blast radius of the nuke..

Rick sat and looked down. He felt cold for a moment. Something was creeping up on him. He looked up to see something so inexplicably impossible that he nearly fainted from the sight itself. Across from him was his recently deceased team leader, Jethro Buchanan, sitting with a smile. Rick backed himself up against his seat, his heart just about to burst from fear. He started sweating and he stared at the team leader.

"J-J-Jethro? What the fuck is happening?"

Jethro simply chuckled, "I'm proud. You did good, kid."

Rick's face dropped as Jethro came apart, becoming nothing but little pieces of ash and paper blown away by the wind. A hearty laugh was heard echoing around the Osprey. The Director turned around and looked at Rick oddly.

"What the- Vali, what's your problem? You look paler than white paint! What? Did you see a ghost or something? Heh, ghosts of our pasts probably."

The Director began laughing as Rick gave him a look of realization. Rick looked around and saw that the only other person around when he saw what he had saw had been Aden, and he was unconscious. He looked around frantically for any traces of the apparition, finding absolutely nothing. He was shaking, extremely distraught at the encounter.

"You- You didn't hear that? Any of that?"

Director Defoe raised an eyebrow, "Hear what? Us taking off? Other than that, there was nothing else to hear."

Rick's face went blank for a moment, but he soon recovered, visibly calming down.

"I- I think I need some sleep."

"Good, get some. We'll be at Oslo by morning. Then again, how can you tell when you have the midnight sun? I'll tell you, nature is amazing."

Rick looked out the side of the Osprey to see the midnight sun. There was a beauty to it, and yet, it creeped him out. He shivered and strapped himself into his seat. He left his mind to wander, now that he was finally relaxed. Soon, his mental training failed him, and let his darkest memories seep back into his mind. He remembered all the teammates and friends he lost today. All the people he had killed. The remorseless way he slaughtered everything in his path because of his orders. But then he remembered the worst of it. He remembered his sister being caught in that explosion.

Tears began to well up in his eyes as kept replaying the scene in his head. He blamed himself for her death, and he kept trying to convince himself that he could have prevented it if he had put Aden down somewhere and assisted Jenine. He would rather have Jenine over Aden any day, but for some reason, she chose to put him before herself. Rick couldn't piece together why she would do something so sacrificial, and it tore at his mind.

He heard something and looked at Aden. He shook slightly and barely managed to lift his head. With dazed eyes and barely any motor control skills, he looked at Rick.

"Rick… Where's Jenine?"

His head fell back down as he slipped back into unconsciousness. Rick frowned hard and looked down. He finally cracked under the pressure and began crying. As much as he hated it, he couldn't stop himself. He hated to feel so weak, and he hated the idea of someone seeing him cry. But for some reason, he couldn't stop. The whole day began replaying over and over in his head, not giving him any solace for his actions. All the families and lives he ended tore at his mind. All the innocent lives he took ripped at his heart, and left him feeling hollow. He felt like he had become a monster.

When you're a TTG, you were trained to ignore all negative thoughts likes sadness or hysteria. You can't be part of a team meant to be deployed at a moment's notice if you let feelings get in your way. You couldn't be Trained To Go if you were crying or ambivalent about your mission's objectives. You were trained to push them aside and continue your mission. Save them for later when you weren't in jeopardy of compromising something so important. All the sick and twisted memories of the horrible acts you may have committed were stored away in the dormant parts of your mind. You would have to _hope_ that those very same memories wouldn't leak into your dreams and become nightmares that would scar and haunt you until the day you die.

For Rick, his mental training finally broke down. He couldn't stand what he had done, and now he had to live with those things forever. He knew he would never be able to atone for what he had done, and this only worsened his mood.

He looked at Aden again and thought out loud, "You must have meant a lot to Jenine… Maybe I should at least try to do one thing good and keep you alive from now on…"

Rick sighed depressingly and considered trying to fall asleep. He quickly erased that idea from his mind; afraid that he might be haunted in his dreams by the civilians he killed or crushed. He shuddered when he considered Jethro coming back to him in his dreams. He looked around and found nothing interesting to look at or do. His mind wandered once again, but this time, he focused on something new. He slowly reached over to Aden and pulled out the PDA he had used to receive the Agency's message.

He began going through the files regarding the gas, studying them in an effort to possibly save Aden's life. In no time, he was already familiar with the basics of it, as he read the reports regarding the test subjects and videos of their actions. He shuddered at the very thought of Aden becoming like these things. Even though he had known him for a short amount of time, no one deserved to be exposed to the effects of this stuff. Rick put back the PDA and waited. He waited for the next five hours, until he finally reached land again.

* * *

><p>Aden woke up several hours late, feeling oh so very groggy. He couldn't remember much after fighting Victor, but he felt something was wrong. He was sitting in an Osprey, while Rick stared out the opening and into the ocean. Aden rubbed at his eyes, then his face, making sure that he was now fully awake. He tapped Rick on the shoulder, to which he got a startled look from Rick.<p>

"Shit. Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

"You didn't scare me, I'm just surprised your awake, let alone normal right now."

"What?"

"The gas should have changed you. But it didn't. I don't know why, but you're lucky to be even human right now."

"Jeez… How long have I been out?"

"Hours. We're on our way to Oslo right now."

Rick reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. Aden squinted to make it out, but he had a good idea on what it was. Rick stared at it longingly, as if he were waiting for something.

"Who's that for?"

Rick came out of his distraction, "Huh? What? Oh this… Yeah, I plan on giving it to a special someone when we get back." He held it for Aden to see, opening the box. "This is one the reasons I knew I couldn't die on this mission. I had to deliver this and get an answer."

"That's a big rock. What's her name?"

"Her name? You probably met her around the Agency before. Her name is Selene."

"Yeah, I've met her actually. She seems like a nice woman."

"Yeah… I _really_ hope she says yes…"

* * *

><p>"Sorry Rick, standard debriefing."<p>

"God, Director, can't we just go and have some peace and quiet now? We've completed the mission _and_ brought back the Displacer. I think we deserve some off time."

"Honestly Director, me and Rick have been through hell and back, we'd just like some vacation time to wind down a bit."

"Listen, I have all the normal stuff covered, you just need to verify team casualties. TTG's suffered its worst in years, and as the surviving members, you need to get the facts straight. From now on, Trained To Go is officially disbanded, as are all group missions. I'm sor-"

"What? You can't just end TTG! We're the most effective unit in the history of the Agency!"

"Now Rick, we realize that. But these missions are just getting far too dangerous and noticeable. You're being reassigned to Covert Ops, and Aden, you'll be conducting research into new projects. I know this isn't what you must have wanted, but your country needs you to do what's best for it. Now, shall we begin?"

"Fine, let's fucking start then."

"Ok, list the deceased members."

"Agent Tyrone Jackson, Agent William Leslie, Agent Jethro Buchanan, and Agent Jenine Vali."

"Well, that's it. That wasn't so hard, now was it?"

"Can we go now?"

"Of course Agent Von Kerzen. Oh and Rick?"

"Yeah?"

"Tell Selene I hope for a happy forever with you."

"Thanks…"

* * *

><p>Aden and Rick walked down a corridor, making their way down to their individual suites. They stopped outside Rick's suit and gave each other a look of anticipation.<p>

Aden chuckled, "So, this is the big step huh?"

"Yeah," Rick said nervously, "I hope this goes the way I imagined it."

"If you want, I'll wait outside for a bit."

"That'd be nice. Oh, and if you hear screaming, don't come in. And you might want to change out of your suit as soon as possible."

"Yeah, you should too. But hey, maybe she likes that," Aden laughed.

"Well, wish me luck."

"Good luck Rick."

Rick walked pulled out a security card and swiped it at his door, and then opened it. He gave one last look of hope to Aden and walked through, closing the door behind him. He made his way through the suite, looking for Selene.

"Selene? You home?"

When he got no response back, he decided she must have been asleep. He went into his bedroom, and talked on his way in, "Hey Selene, I got something to ask yo-". He stopped in his tracks. He fell to his knees and stared. His face, mind and heart went blank. Time itself stopped in that very room.

"S-Selene?"

He was at a loss for words at what was in front of him. Lying on the bed, covered in blood, was Selene. She was against the backboard, a single bullet in her forehead. Her face held shock, a torturous shock that tore at Rick's heart. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He punched himself, thinking he was in a dream. But nothing happened.

Was this punishment for what he had done? Was this the revenge of all the lives he took? Did God single-handedly ruin his life in one day? He couldn't focus at all, his vision blurring with tears. As if by nature, he threw up to his side, and began sobbing.

Eventually he stopped. He just stared at the body of what was once his lover. She laid there, helpless as death creeped over her. Rick's face was molded into a frown, not too deep, but not too unexpressive. His eyes were watery, and his nose was wet, as he felt something move around in his peripheral vision. He pushed that aside and instead focused on Selene, wondering who would have done this.

"She was a wonderful woman, wasn't she?"

Rick said nothing.

"Selene would have made quite the wife for you."

Rick felt nothing.

"Maybe you would have even broken your promise of not continuing the bloodline, just for her."

Rick stared at nothing.

"All the things you would have done, just to make her your wife. Amazing what the heart can make a man do."

Whoever was talking to Rick finally came into full view, on the right of the bed. It was a tall man, dressed in a pinstripe suit with a matching fedora. He held a black revolver in his hands and twiddled it with his fingers. Rick couldn't make out his face from here, but he felt some kind of familiarity with whoever this was. But Rick couldn't focus on this man; he was too hurt to think straight. He hadn't even connected the gun to the bullet hole in his lover's head.

"Now, time to finish this."

The man turned around and walked over to the kneeling agent. Rick's eyes moved up to see the face of the man who murdered the woman he planned on asking to marry him. When they made eye contact, Rick froze. He couldn't comprehend what he was seeing.

Staring directly back at Rick, was Rick. Two exact same faces were staring right back at each other. Rick's sanity was flying out the window, and he just couldn't hold on. The man walked behind Rick and got close to his ear.

He whispered, "Life's grand, isn't it?"

The man backed up and spoke again, "I won't fail, but a lot of men will. And with that," he clapped his hands loudly, "humanity's fate is sealed!" He laughed loudly, but it soon died down into a chuckle. He showed the revolver to Rick, and he instantly recognized it. It was the Panther, and for some reason, this man had it. Rick's mind twitched at the thought for a moment before shutting back down.

The doppelganger looked at Rick's eyes and placed the Panther on the floor. Rick looked down, right before he got patted on the head.

"Now please, do everyone a favor."

And with that, the man walked out, disappearing entirely. Rick looked at the revolver in front of him. Ideas crossed his mind. Some told him to finish this, others told him to hold out for longer. But his will was depleted, and he felt that there was now nothing worth living for anymore. He pulled the Panther up to his head.

Rick heard a door opening. A familiar voice called out to him.

"Rick? I just some creep with a mask on walk out. Do you need help? Rick?"

He heard Aden come closer, and this only made Rick want to speed the process up.

Aden came through the bedroom door, "Hey Rick, did y-"

But he was cut off by a loud bang.

"RICK! WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED!"

Rick was losing consciousness quickly, and he knew he would soon slip into death. At last, he might just have the chance to see the ones he loved and cared about again. He felt an odd relief at the thought of what he'd done. And now, no one could stop him from dying.

"DON'T WORRY MAN, I GOT YOU!"

As his vision died out, he saw Aden reach for something. That was the last thing he saw. The rest was a black void.

* * *

><p>"And that's how my entire life became meaningless in only a day. Later on, I gave it back its meaning. Aden, that bastard, managed to bring me back from the fringe. He used that experimental medical gel to patch me up. He never explained it more than that, but I know there was always something he never told me. I buried Selene a few days later. The Agency never bothered with an investigation. I thought that they'd think I was the main suspect, but they never did. We never found the man that shot her, and we never even saw him on the cameras. When I saw my face staring back at me, I thought I had gone insane. I didn't know what to think. Everything had gone wrong that day. I didn't see a point in living after all that. Everything had been taken away from me. At least, that's what I thought. From that whole ordeal, I gained two things. The first was my best friend, Aden. The second was a promotion. I pretty much became a solo agent from then on in. No more engineering, only killing and espionage. That's where I put the rest of my life towards. My country's safety. Even if it never even gave the slightest reaction to all those that died that day, it was still one of the few things I could still say I cared about."<p>

"I pushed myself forward. I made it to the top of the Agency's best. I was put only on the highest risk missions, at my request. I became a wreck of a person, always wanting to put myself in the worst situation so I could at least die without resorting to suicide. But that never happened. I only got better at what I did. I killed innocent people, I killed agents from other governments. I made my enemies, I made my contacts. I was being used by my government, and I knew it. I didn't know any other way to live. Anyone who got in my way, I gunned down. Through blood and ammunition, I killed off any competition. I'd wake up every morning and look in the mirror. Do you know what I saw? A real contender. A changed man. People acted different around me since that mission, and I knew it. They tried to be supportive, but I pushed everything away. I only kept Aden as my friend."

"When I wasn't on missions, I was in my suite, drinking myself to death. That was the only thing that could keep the memories back and the demons away. And when that wouldn't work, I resorted to drugs. There was this one that I used, it almost killed me. But it gave me the best relief I ever had. I couldn't forced myself to use it though. I don't know why, it could've been the answer to my pain. But I didn't. Aden talked me out of it. I never did thank him for everything he did for me during that time. The thing I appreciate from him the most was never bringing up that mission again."

"After becoming too much of a loose cannon and bringing too much unneeded and negative attention to the Agency, they forced me to clean up my act. I stopped injecting, and I stopped drinking. Those three months of rehabilitation were horrific. But I did it. I pulled through so I could fight for my country again. That was probably the only thing I could still fight for. After sobering up, they put me back in the loop. I got back to being the best again, and this time, I did it right. I got put on missions working with other agents from different governments. There was one in particular that stood out from the rest though. You've all seen him. His name is Tobias."

"We must have completed dozens of missions together. I actually managed to learn how to trust again. We put our lives in each other's hands too many times to count. Eventually, I asked Command to just stick me with him for any missions. With the German and American governments working together, a better bond could be formed between the two. We were slowly helping two countries come together for pushing humanity forward through sharing science and observations."

"Then one day, we were separated in Moscow. I was given the order to kill a government official while Tobias killed another. We would then meet up and get our orders for evac. But that never happened. I was tranquilized by a sniper guarding the official, and was captured. They brought me to the FSB's headquarters and tortured me in interrogation. I never cracked though, there was no reason to. I would never betray my country, even if my life depended on it. Luckily, Tobias came to save me. He somehow managed to disguise himself as the interrogator and kill the officer guarding me. We got into a janitor's closet and talked about what we were going to do. He suggested the sewers, so I went down into them. I was surprised when he said he'd hold off the agents coming to kill us so I could escape. I never thought he'd be willing to give his life for me."

"Obviously, he never did. I don't know how he did it, but he managed to escape that day. With his help though, I met Hadrian. He was an interesting guy. When I first saw him, he was dressed like a suit, tie and everything. He wore a mask though; told me his face was burned in a horrible accident. Made sense in a way, seeing as though he could control fire. That scared me. It really did. Here was a regular looking guy shooting fire and all sorts of different stuff from his hands. I almost envied him for it though. I wanted his power. I wanted to be able to make myself more of an asset."

"But according to Tobias, he died too. I haven't seen him since that mission in Moscow, but I always felt that he was still alive. And now, he wants to kill me. Him and Tobias. I honestly thought I could at least trust Tobias more than that, but I guess having another friend was never meant to be. Two weeks later, I was back doing solo missions. It was dangerous work, but someone had to do it. Then, the biggest one ever was put on my shoulders."

"They wanted me to pioneer a mission to the Moon. We've done that before many times in the past, but never like this. I was being sent to make sure it was possible to set up a secret settlement on the dark side of the Moon. I really didn't like the idea, but Aden gave me the confidence I needed to work towards my freedom again. After this, they'd probably let me retire and just live my days out somewhere far from the U.S. That's what I was hoping for half the time. But things always seem to good to be true."

"After a surgery and briefing, I was put on a rocket to the Moon. Everything I needed was there, but that couldn't help me when I took off. After launch, the rocket was attacked by the Chinese Air Force. I didn't know how they knew, but they almost brought me down. Thank god for the anti-air systems. They weren't very good, but they saved me. Once I managed to get into space, it was time to relax. It took eight hours to get close to the Moon. When I got close enough, I was in the ride of my life."

"There were weird gravitational anomalies all over the place, covering almost every way into the Moon. I pushed forward though, but I lost control of the shuttle. I was forced to put myself in stasis to avoid getting killed in the crash. But the shuttle was only scratched up, minus a hole in the side. I nearly punched myself when I saw the hole. I was supposed to be dead, there was _not_ supposed to be a breathable atmosphere. I didn't focus on that though. I focused on fixing my shuttle. I ran into that one person you guys called Nightmare Moon. I'll be honest, she looked amazing. But I did what I had to do, and I attacked her. When I defeated her, she ran away, but she left her mark on me. There was a literal hole in my heart from her horn. I was almost able to save myself, but **_she_** stabbed me in the same place. I fell to the floor and almost died. She flew away and didn't even thank me for saving her."

"From there, its all been just me on a new planet with no humans and no help. I changed myself a little. I saw an untapped planet full of resources and possibility, and I thought, 'Hey, I want this. I want to dominate the land and take it for myself.' So I did that. I took a castle, and I kicked out the owner. I made it my home, and I brought back some new friends to it. Everything else after that, is for another time. Right now, I'd like to just end this story."

* * *

><p>And that is how Rick's life went completely wrong. This chapter has been such a big pain in the ass to write. I revised it over and over and took out large chunks of it at times, and added the foundations to future chapters. There was definitely a lot of grimdark in here and a lack of anything pony, but I needed to give a background to Rick that would show that he's suffered through a lot. I don't really know what to write here, so I'll keep it brief.<p>

If you'd like to say something regarding this chapter (that took far too long to write), leave a review, email me, or head over to the Ponychan thread. Also, at the time of writing this, it took roughly around 80 pages in Word, and around 36,000 words approximately. Hope you enjoyed it.

Stay trilla.


	12. Chapter 12

**Stasis**

**Chapter 12: Building Bridges**

**By: Stillmatic**

* * *

><p>Rick looked up. It was night now, and he was glad. The recap of that foul day must have taken longer than he thought, because he couldn't make out much in the darkness of the room. It was odd and almost fitting how no one turned on a light or a candle during his story. It seemed like everyone just sat and listened. He didn't even know if they were still there at this point though, and he wouldn't blame them if they decided to leave.<p>

'Why the hell is it so dark though? Why aren't the lights on?'

He looked around, trying to adjust to the minimum light levels. He _could_ make out the bodies of the ponies, but they all seemed the same to him at this point, minus the few that stood out like the Princesses. He considered why the Moon wasn't giving off any light for a moment, and then dismissed it due to him not even slightly caring any more.

Still, he could feel them watching him, waiting for him to say something. He didn't really have much to say at all now, he had told his story and all he wanted now was to be alone and relax. He didn't care that he was tied down or near-fatally wounded; he just wanted some time to himself. His stomach ached verbally however, betraying that he actually was more interested in food.

He heard a shuffling as a response to his stomach's noise, but it came no closer. He squinted to make out the large group in front of him, trying to focus to see if they were still there or still awake. He wouldn't blame them for leaving. How could he when he had just told them what was probably the most horrific story they'd hear in their lives? He almost regretted having to tell it, but something inside told him it was necessary.

He tried moving under the chains, but to no avail. He felt something in front of him move, but again, nothing happened. He was getting slightly frustrated now. All he wanted to do was eat, go to the bathroom, take a shower, and then something to take his mind off the pain. Was that so much to ask?

"So, I've told you my story. Now let me out of these chains and towards a bathroom."

Other than a few murmurs, he couldn't hear anything. They were really getting on his nerves now.

"Listen, I just want to goddamn go to a bathroom and then eat some food. That's all I'm asking, and I'll be damned if I don't get to."

He heard footsteps moving away from him and he tried focusing on the figure moving. He groaned when he was suddenly exposed to a fully lit room, his eyes aching from all the light. He couldn't focus at all, forcing him to close his eyes and slowly force them open to get used to the light. When he was finally comfortable with looking now, he saw the reactions in front of him. It was what he expected and maybe a bit more.

Their faces were priceless, but in no way funny. It was a kind of priceless in the sense that no amount of money could get one's face laden with such negative feeling. Some of them actually looked a bit sick from hearing the more gruesome parts of his story, and he noticed that quite a few were crying for whatever reason. He saw a puddle of something slimy and oddly colored on the floor and another one of those ponies with the same stuff on her face next to it.

Shock was probably the most common facet of their reactions. It coated every face, most likely because they couldn't possibly believe such things could occur anywhere. Rick's grave explanation through the story only confirmed that it had happened; no one could make up such a story and with such detail. There seemed to be a lot of confusion on different things in his recollection of past events, and he felt like they were still hanging on a few details.

One particular pony he saw was in the corner of the room, rocking herself uneasily. It was the same one who tried helping him from inside the barrier.

'She must have been affected the most or something. Hell, they all must be a bunch of weak-hearts.'

Rick did feel some guilt at what he'd told them, but he needed to show them that there was no such thing as a perfect world with no danger, or no death. He felt slightly corruptive doing what he did, but he pushed that feeling aside. Instead, he focused on individual reactions.

The first pony he looked at was that white one with the purple mane, and he was slightly surprised when he saw that she was passed out on the floor. He wondered what made her so easy to scare, or sicken. He began looking over to another one, this one being the orange and blond looking one. She was just lying on the floor with her hat over her eyes and face as she bobbed her head lightly. He listened closely and barely heard some kind of sound he couldn't make out coming from her.

Turning his head, he focused on the one he really wanted to see the reaction of. This pink one was naturally annoying to him, and he just plain didn't like her. He almost cracked a smile when he saw her in such a state of despair. She was sitting down on her backend, with her hair now somehow straightened and down. Her face was an odd mix of a few things like killed happiness, a depressing sadness, and some sort of slight insanity deep down. But her eyes are what really caught Rick's attention and he instantly looked at them. They seemed so uncharacteristically sad and devoid of anything good.

He almost chuckled when he saw the guards holding each other, but he moved on anyway. He found that purple looking one with her hooves over her head on the floor. It looked like she was trying to piece something together, but as hard as she tried, couldn't. She wasn't very interesting at all for the most part. Next to her was the Rainbow one. It appeared she was the one who left the mess of what he guessed was her lunch on the floor. He thought that was a bit odd, seeing as though from the few occurrences he's seen her, she had kept a tough façade. She looked a bit woozy, but still stood despite her slight swaying.

'That must suck for her.'

Rick looked to the right of her and saw that large, white Princess. He couldn't remember the name, but he knew it had something to do with space. He looked back and saw her unfocused and slightly twisted. There was a crack of grief on her, and it seemed creepy from Rick's perspective.

He noticed someone was missing right after thinking about that Princess. He looked around and couldn't find what he was looking for. Then, from behind a corner, came the other Princess. Rick liked her reaction, mostly because he couldn't read it. She kept a blank face on as she walked over to Rick. She stared at Rick for a moment, unnerving him a bit.

"What's up?"

She was caught off guard for a moment, but kept watching.

"Why do you do what you do?"

"What I do?"

"Yes, what you do. How you kill so easily, or hurt others without pity or guilt."

"You make me sound like some kind of monster… I lost my humanity and all that came with it a long time ago. I taught myself to push away my emotions and replace them."

"Replace them with what?"

"Anger and attitude. Those have kept me alive for all these years, despite all the times I've nearly died. And if it works that well on the battlefield or out in some other country, I'd think it would work in regular life too. Not that I socialize much anymore, so I can't really understand how effective it is."

"It isn't. Not at all. You're only pushing people away."

Rick's eyes widened slightly, but then narrowed them as he remembered something.

"You know, Trixie told me some kind of legend or something from around a millennia ago. Something about a certain pony who got angry and jealous and pushed away her sister and her people. After that? Treason and a rebellion. Then what? Being sent to the Moon for a thousand years. Very interesting story, brings a lot of things to light. Like how bad of a leader you are or a fighter for that matter. You were brought down pretty damn quick and easily."

She looked down, "She had the Elements of Harmony on her side…"

"So? A tactical advantage is still an advantage, but that doesn't mean it can't have weaknesses or loopholes. That only means that you have to work around things to make them better for yourself. And what the hell is this Elements of Harmony crap I keep hearing about? It sounds so… so… _hippy!_"

"The Elements are the living manifestation of all that is good and pure in life. Things like Honesty, Loyalty, Generosity, and others."

"What about the others?"

"The others are Kindness, Laughter and Magic, and the-"

"No, that's not what I meant. Where are their counters?"

"Their what?"

"You know, their opposites, their equals. Something that can counter the other in some way."

"There _is no counter._"

"What? How can there be none? Yeesh, everything in your world is completely one-sided and unbalanced."

"Unbalanced? How is it unbalanced?"

"All I ever hear about from ponies is all this goodness and kindness and love and toleration crap. Where's the spite and the hate?"

Luna backed for a second, "Why would we need such things? They only create conflict and misery!"

"But that's what life is! Sometimes you suffer and sometimes you're happy! You can't have some kind of 'good' without there being a 'bad'! Unless… you somehow got rid of those and made this some kind of weird and creepy utopia. The Soviets tried doing that back in the late 1900's in Ukraine I think..."

"We aren't a utopia; we still have our share of problems on occasion."

Rick snorted, "Yeah I bet… Because your crops being eaten or a lizard sleeping in a mountain is real trouble compared to all-out war between half of the world right? That's real life right there. War. As long as there is something to fight over or some resource someone wants, there will always be war."

"How can you say such things? Equestria hasn't been in a war for at least, uhm lets see…"

"A thousand years?"

She stopped and looked back down, "Yes. A thousand years." She got her confidence back and put it in her words, "And I for one am glad that there hasn't been a single conflict between or in nations since that time."

"You know, if you think about it, a lot of bad things stopped once you were gone. And now you're back, and I'm here too. And I can just tell by your expressions and all those little things that you all must either fear me or hate me. A threat right? Can I even call that coincidental?"

"Wh- What are you implying?"

"Don't make me spell it out for you."

"I-I'm not understanding…"

"Ok, let me put it like this: Things got better when you were gone. Things have gotten worse since you've been back. Put the pieces together."

She stopped for a second, thinking.

"You're right… But how is that possible?"

Rick chuckled, "Isn't it obvious? _You are the counterbalance!_ You're the bad! Just like me. You are the opposite of all that's good! You're just plai-"

"_**STOP**_!"

Rick looked away from Luna and towards Celestia. She was breathing heavily as she looked down at Rick from her full height.

"Don't you dare imply that of my sister! She is not evil!"

Rick, amused, said, "I never said she was evil, I said she was bad. Besides, that whole 'good and evil' thing doesn't exist. There's a good, but that counterbalances the bad. The 'evil' however, doesn't exist. There's no such thing as evil because morality is one big gray and messy splotch. Take it from someone who's been there most of his life; there is no evil."

Celestia, slightly confused, retorted impulsively, "There is an evil and she has a name! Her name is Nightma-"

"Oh please! You're just making yourself look ignorant now! Do you honestly think she's evil? I heard the story, and guess what? All she wanted was appreciation, and you selfish ponies couldn't even give her that! So she changed herself and made a plan to separate the kingdom right? Good for her! She had a dream and an aspiration to be better than others! I had the same thing and I made it to the top! I can honestly say I respect her more than you right now."

Celestia was flabbergasted at Rick's words, as she stuttered to find hers.

"What? Do you honestly expect everyone to like you? Because, like, wow, that's beyond conceited."

"I am not conceited! I do not expect everyponye to agree with or like me! Ponies have their own opinions and I respect that!"

"Sure… That's why you're a Princess right? Rule with an iron fist?"

"E-Excuse me?"

That one pony Twilight Something looked up from the floor and at Rick, her mood instantly changing from confusion to livid.

"How could you even _dare_ imply that! Princess Celestia is the kindest ruler in the entire world!"

"My dearest student, I think I ca-"

"She's done so much for us and we love her for it! You could never compare to her!"

She glared at Rick deeply and angrily. With spite, she waited for some kind of answer.

"Well?"

Rick sighed, "Well what? You want me to say you're right? The only thing you're 'right' about is that me and her aren't alike. And maybe the only reason you love her so much is because you were told to or feel like you need to from a young age? I don't know, I'm not an expert on pony psychology, or human psychology for that matter, but I know when I see something I don't like."

The large pony walked closer, "And what is it about me that you don't like?"

"It's not you specifically; it's the way you run things here."

"Would you mind explaining?"

"From what I hear, you control the sun and moon right? You bring day and night? Does nature or physics or any sense of reality play a part in this world? Where's the balance? Where's realism? Who gave you goddamn control over things like this? The only place this world has that seems normal is that Forest! That's the gem among the dirt, isn't it?"

"Why would you want something like that? From your story, I can tell your world is horrible! Death and killing without remorse! How can you sympathize with a world like that? How can you want it in a place like this?"

"Because there's nothing better! A world controlled by nature is a good enough one. One where only the strong survive and creatures fight to get to the top of the food chain! I know my world isn't perfect, I know we do messed up things to each other and cause disasters, but don't you dare call it horrible! I'm only one out of nine billion people doing what they do every day. I can't represent all of them, and I sure as hell can't say they're all as fucked up as me. But we are who we have to become, and guess what? I couldn't imagine it any other way. I know humanity will always prevail because there will always be the better ones who can make living on that planet worthwhile and beneficial. Then, there's the very few like me that are willing to sacrifice others for a goal they believe in. The world would be better off without us and our fighting, but it's what we have to do."

Rick looked down, disappointed in himself for exposing his thoughts. He looked back up to see the smaller Princess, Luna, looking directly at him. He made eye contact, and opened his mouth to speak, only to be cut off by her.

"Why?"

Rick didn't hear the question, but he knew what she was going to ask.

"Why what?"

"Why do you keep fighting? You know it'll only hurt others, so why do you do it?"

Rick laid there speechless for a moment, not knowing how to respond. He gave a small smile, shaking his head.

"You really can't understand until you've done it. People like me, we fight for reasons. No matter where you go, no matter how many people you'll have in the world, there will always be fighting. It might be for resources, it might be for land, but the outcome is always the same; someone wins and someone loses. I work towards my country winning. I fight because it's my job. The job is morally deprived, but it pays good, and I sleep every night making sure a Commune Agent doesn't come and kill a government official, or something that can hurt us. Why do I do it? Not for the glory, because my actions aren't known, and not for the money, because I won't need it until I retire. I do it because I'd rather have myself doing the worst of the work over someone else doing it in my place. No one deserves to do what I do, so who else can do it? Better me, a veteran of two wars, than some greenhorn that just got out of the Agency's academy. Why should anyone suffer the same way I do? So you ask me, 'Why do you keep fighting?' and I'm going to give you an answer. Because I have to. Because it's my job. Because no one else will. As long as there's something worth killing another man or destroying something for, I'll be there, ready to do everything I can to make sure what matters to me stays safe."

Rick looked down, but then looked back into Luna's eyes, "I'm not proud of what I do, but I am proud of the good that comes of it. I may have taken a lot of lives, but it pales in comparison to how many I've saved."

"So you'd rather put yourself in danger over others? You'd rather kill a few to save many?"

"Yeah, and it's not like I have a lot of choice in the matter. I have my orders, and I follow them. If I didn't I'd have been hunted down, killed, then all traces of my life would be wiped from the Earth. That's another reason to fight, so I stay remembered somehow."

"What do you mean 'hunted down'? Your own government would kill you?"

"Hell yeah they would if it ever came down to it, but luckily it never has. They have these special teams for taking down anyone whose gone rogue. They call them Alpha Squads, and they are the toughest and most brutal killers in the world. These guys are probably the worst humans alive, and they're proud of it. They invited me to join one of their teams once. Guess what it was called. 'Murder Team'. And they thought I was good enough to be part of them. What does that say about me?"

"But you didn't join them right?"

"No… Once again, Aden managed to talk me out of another disaster waiting to happen. That same team ended up getting annihilated by the Commune days later. But then again, they might not have, we never did find any significant proof other than their plane crashing over the Arctic Circle. I hope they aren't alive though, the world is better off without them."

"What do you mean by 'the Commune'?"

"The Commune is a like a cluster, ok? They're a bunch of dictatorships or communist controlled countries that honestly despise my country and others like it. The main powers that are involved in the Commune are: Russia, North Korea, China, and Cuba. These countries have a history of being against us at different times, and they're always trying to breathe down our necks. They just never stop with all of their brainwashed agents and intel gathering."

"So why are you against them?"

"Because they're Communist countries, that's why! Well, actually, that's just one reason, but that's the most used one. They're taking power away from their people and giving it to the very few who know how to abuse it to their gain. No one has a voice in their countries, and I can't stand that! I wish democracy was bomb I could just drop on their countries so I can purge the corrupt leaders from them."

"You don't like them because they're not democratic? What about your country?"

"My country? It's actually a democratic republic. You know, public elects a someone to rep them, then those reps meet up and discuss the country's affairs while the President does whatever he does. I honestly can't remember what he does exactly, other than vetoing every goddamn bill that's about gun control laws. Seems like a nice guy."

"That actually sounds interesting… were you a representative?"

"Not a chance. The government doesn't even recognize my existence. But… from what I hear there's a very interesting perk to retiring. Apparently, if you manage to keep a low profile during your career as an agent, they allow a meeting with the Agency's Board. I guess from there you request an occupation after retiring. I heard some guy way back did that and chose to be the Congressman of New Jersey. Not sure if that's true, but it's definitely worth looking into."

"That sounds like a lot of work... What else can you tell me about your government?"

"Ehh, there's not much else to tell that's important. We are part of the Coalition of Free Nations, but that's definitely not as tight-knit as the Commune. I can't really think of anything else that's interesting. But you know, I have a few questions myself."

"You're free to ask."

"Are there other humans on this planet?"

"As far as we know, no."

"Anything in history books or some kind of cave drawings? Something at all?"

"I'm afraid not. I suppose you're kind just doesn't exist here."

"Yeah… sad. Man, I'd never tell him this, but I miss Aden. And Tyrone. And Billy. And Jethro. And Jenine. I miss all of them so much. Gets lonely from time to time without my team. So much lost that day, and yet, so much gained. They all left me a little something in their wills. It hurts to look at those things, but it feels nice having something to remember them by."

"You seemed to have it hard for the most part."

He chuckled sadly, "What can I say? Me and life always had a vendetta. I'll tell the truth, I know I could've done better. But I can't change the past, and I can't imagine my life, as twisted as it is, to be any different at this point."

"You know… You could leave all that behind."

"Hah, like that's possible…"

"You could just live here in Equestria from now on and you'd finally be able to escape your convictions and your past."

Rick considered that, "What place does a person like me have in a world like this? I don't belong here, and I'll only be a negative influence. Honestly, you should either kill me now or stick me in a jail cell to rot for the rest of my life. That would be the sensible thing to do."

"What? How can you say such things?"

"Because it makes sense? Listen, I'm a dangerous person who lost a lot of what made him human a long time ago."

"Just because you're dangerous doesn't mean you don't deserve a chance! Why would we ever put you in a cell before we've at least tried to help you?"

"Because I don't deserve the help maybe? I'm trying to explain the best course of action here. Let me list the laws I would have broken back in the U.S.: animal abuse, aggravated assault, assault on an officer, theft, attempted murder, and a bunch of other things that I can't remember right now."

"You may have left a few scars, but no one has been killed or hurt significantly."

Luna could have sworn she heard a cough come from one of the guards on her back-right.

"It's… only a matter of time I guess. Something will happen."

"You can't say that! How can you expect to leave all the bad things you've done behind if you don't give yourself a chance?"

"People like me; they don't deserve a second chance. One shot, then that's it. Once you're caught, you're as good as done."

"You can't honestly believe that. No one can believe that."

"I… don't know what to believe in anymore. Seems like every day is just another day coasting through life, trying to stay alive." Rick sighed, "I'll be honest, I'm tired of fighting, I really am. I wish I could stop, but it's my obligation."

"Obligation to whom?"

"My country, people, hell, even my family. We've served as agents and soldiers for the U.S. for almost three centuries. Who am I, as the last living member, to not continue in honor of my family?"

"You're not on your planet anymore; you don't need to keep fighting for anyone."

Rick looked down, not sure how to respond. He frowned, and then looked into Luna's eyes.

"Why are you so willing to give me a second chance when I don't deserve one?"

She smiled, "Because I've been there."

Rick's frown dissolved and was replaced with a smile and light chuckle, "And what would your sister and your subjects think of you just giving me a second chance?"

They both looked to see everyone staring at them in anticipation.

"I think I can get them to see things my way."

"Well I can't say I wou-"

A blinding light instantly formed in the room, pushing away Celestia and Luna. Before they could react, a dark blue bubble formed around the bed Rick was laying in. Not sure what to make of the situation, he struggled in a vain attempt to break out of the chains and ropes holding him down. He looked forward to see the bright light darken and shift. He watched in amazement as it took the form of a large, dark pony. His heart sank once he saw who it was.

"My, my, quite the troublemaker you are, aren't you?"

Rick's mind raced as he looked around him to find some way of escaping what would most likely be a long and torturous death. He looked past the shield and saw some forms trying to hit it or break through. He couldn't understand anything they were saying and only muffled words were reaching his ears. Confronted with no other choice, Rick began talking.

"I try."

"I won't lie; I was quite impressed by your handiwork back in the square. Oh, and that Manticore? It didn't even stand a chance."

"Thanks? You know, I'm really wondering right now if you're going to do what I think you're going to do."

"And what's that?"

"Torture me, then probably kill me."

"And why would I do that?"

"Because I crippled your wings and broke your horn."

"Yes, you did do that didn't you? Luckily for you, I recover quickly. Now, I've been watching you and listening to everything you've been saying. I only have one question."

Rick looked past the mare and out the bubble. He looked back at her, ready to answer whatever question she might have.

"Do you really think I look amazing?"

Rick blinked.

"What?"

"You said earlier, right after your story, that you thought I looked amazing. Is that true?"

"Well yeah, I gotta admit, you look a lot more cooler than anyone else here. But did you seriously come here to ask me that?"

She smiled, "No, I came to deliver something from someone, to you."

"What? Who cou- wait! Is it a remote charge? Is someone trying to blow me up?"

"Excuse me? You're misunderstanding the situation and I think I should explain a few things."

"That'd help."

"You see, I met some very interesting creatures on the Moon after both you and _**her**_ left. Ones just like you. They were quite kind and didn't even attack me as soon as they saw me."

Rick smiled sheepishly.

"They actually communicated with me and told me all about what happened to them. Quite a sad story. As I was saying, we discussed some very eye-opening things regarding their kind and their planet. One mentioned that he lost his greatest friend on the Moon long ago. The other said he knew the same person due to him being his superior. I believe these two were called 'humans' and they both had different names. I can't quite recall their names, but they were nothing like any I've heard of. When I brought up the creature that attacked me mid-battle, they instantly recognized who it must have been. I was surprised on how quickly they knew, but they merely said 'only one person could say things like that in that situation'. They were slightly disappointed in how you handled this 'first contact' but were glad when I mentioned that I wasn't willing to hold a grudge. I surprised myself a bit right there, but nonetheless, we continued discussing their situation. Their situation is very dire at this point, and one asked me to assist you by sending a package to you. Of course, I had to oblige them. Oh, and don't worry, I hold nothing against you. They informed me on how paranoid and impulsive you are around things that can sneak around."

Rick lay speechless on the bed, not knowing what to say. Here was a large pony talking to him about Aden and someone else, in the most nonchalant way possible. He wondered why both of them would ever be on the Moon, let alone near a rocket. Worried, he couldn't help think that something must have gone wrong.

"Aden is here? He's really here?"

"By here, I assume you mean the Moon. If so, then yes, he's here. He's told me about your past accomplishments. Did you really bring down an entire platoon of mercenaries singlehandedly?"

"Yeah, but I sort of cheated and used an artillery cannon to do it."

"Still, very impressive."

Rick smiled, "What about you? I heard you started a coup against your sister. That takes confidence and guts. I would probably never be able to do that."

She got closer to Rick's face, "That's not all I've done."

Rick chuckled, "Really? You're going to have to tell me all about it some time."

"Hmm, I'd like that. They said you're name was Rick, correct?"

"Yeah, and you're Nightmare Moon, right?"

"The one and only."

"So can you go into people's dreams and stuff? Give them nightmares?"

She smiled, "That's one of the easier tricks, I could you show things much more interesting."

"Sounds fun, we should set a date."

"I believe we should."

For some reason, Rick actually felt at ease with her, and he didn't know why. There was something calming about looking into someone who was pitch black and held the stars in her mane. He looked above her head and saw her horn had somehow grown back.

"I see you've made a full recovery."

"Why yes, I have. Oh and keep that old one as a present, I won't be needing it anymore."

"Thanks, I wish I had something for you. Ehh, I'll find something in return sooner or later."

"Lovely. Now, do you want this package I have for you?"

"From Aden, right?"

"Yes, and it seems to be full."

Nightmare Moon lifted a gray metal container off her back with her magic, setting it down on the bed's side table. Rick wondered silently at what could be inside.

"I'm sorry to leave so quickly, but I must get back to the Moon. I enjoyed our conversation and hope we can talk more often."

"I'd like that." Rick looked back at her then at himself. He realized he was still chained down, and tried breaking free. He quickly became tired from his injuries and looked back at Nightmare Moon, as she was watching him trying to break free.

"Mind helping me out?"

She chuckled, "Of course."

She lit up her horn and let out a long string of dark energy, leading it to the single lock that held all the rope and chain in place. With an expertise, it weaved quickly through the tumblers and turns, clicking away the counter-measures. Within a moment, the fat lock was unlocked and lifted away as Rick slowly removed the mass of rope and metal constricting him.

"Thanks."

"My pleasure. Oh, and you're still residing in the Everfree Castle, correct?"

"Yeah."

"Have you explored the rooms yet?"

"No, I didn't really think there was anything left to take or look at."

"Well, I left something behind roughly a year ago, but I won't be needing it anymore. You should use it."

"I'll do that. Thanks."

"Have a nice night."

Within another second, the same flash of light took Nightmare Moon away and the bubble receded into nothing. Luna and Celestia rushed in, ready to fight. They calmed down once they noticed there was no trace of Nightmare Moon, but tensed again when they saw Rick sitting up and rubbing at his wrists. A chain mark was left on both of his wrists as he lifted them up to show the ponies in front of him.

"I remember some guy I looked up to once said, 'The Great Chain pulls us together as a people, and as a nation. But only few can be the ones to pull back.' A very interesting man."

Luna walked over to him and examined the lock, "How did you get out?"

"Nightmare Moon busted the lock and let me go. Pretty nice of her."

Celestia looked at him with worry, "What exactly happened between you two?"

Rick stared back in confusion, "What, you couldn't hear or see us?"

"No, in fact, we couldn't make out what was happening at all! We thought she might try to exact revenge on you for hurting her."

Rick smiled, "That's what I thought, but she actually said she was impressed with me. Now that's an interesting way to start a relationship, but hey, I'm not complaining. And somehow, she knows a few people from back on Earth too. They're on the Moon apparently. Huh, I almost forgot…"

He turned his body, but realized that he had no clothes on. Grumbling, he grabbed the blanket with him and used it as a makeshift cloth. He sat on the edge of the bed, trying to reawaken his sleeping legs.

He winced, "You never get used to that."

Ready now, he grabbed the metal box on the side table and undid the hatches on the top end. He looked back to see eyes watching him intently, waiting for what secrets from another planet the box held. He smirked and then opened the box wide. His eyes widened and began tearing slightly at what he saw.

Inside the box were an assortment of mementos and physical memories from days long gone. He smiled and pulled out a jumble of metal and links, sorting them out. He put each dog tag one at a time over his neck, taking a moment to look at each one. He looked at the Jethro's narwhal horn, and then compared it to Nightmare Moon's horn. He chuckled and began looking through the box again, this time pulling out a very familiar piece of headwear.

He smacked the balaclava around, airing it out and giving it back its life. He rubbed at the material for a second before pulling it over his head and then rolling it back upwards to form his favorite improvised skullcap. He grabbed a beret, but left it inside. Feeling around, he pulled out an old photo. He held it up for everyone to see, showing them who his team had been.

"These were the best people I ever knew. They were like a real family to me, and each of them taught me something in my life. There's Tyrone over there by Billy, that's me and Jethro sitting by the crates, and there's Jenine and Aden hanging out together. That was taken right before our last mission. We were all laughing and being happy and hell, we even had a party the day before. Those… those were real good times. When we were together. I really miss them, I really do." He sighed, "But enough of this, I'm really in need of a few things right now."

He grabbed the photo and put it back into the box, not bothering to fully check it. Something caught his attention, and quickly opened the box up again. He rummaged through and pulled out a device none of the ponies recognized. He put his ear to it, and smiled as he began turning something. Apparently, he had heard something and now made it audible to everyone in the room.

"_Your orders are to capture the target, dead or alive, over. The target is AVK and DDD."_

"_Roger, we lost target DDD but are pursuing AVK, over."_

"_This line has been compromised, unauthorized access has been detected, switch over to non-direct lines, over."_

"_Roger, continuing the mission on non-direct lines, over."_

All that could be heard was low buzzing as Rick stared puzzled at the device.

"What the hell… Something's up. I don't recognize those call signs, but someone is trying to get away from someone in charge. Probably some random or maybe a rogue agent. Well, it's probably nothing to worry about. Now, there's a few things I'd like to take care of as soon as possible."

Celestia raised a brow, "Take care of? What could you possibly need to do?"

"Well, I don't know where my clothes are, but they're probably too bloodstained or cut up to use at this point. Let's see, I need a shower," he smelt himself, "ASAP, and I really need to find a bathroom. I really could go for some chicken or steak too right now."

"Well, we can provide non-meat food, a bathroom, and a shower, but finding clothing for you might be a problem."

Rick clicked his tongue, "Damn, well I guess three outta four ain't bad." Something came back to Rick, something from not too long ago. "You know, I think I remember someone here making clothing as a living. Who was it again? Rarity, right? That was her name, right?"

From the corner of his eye he saw something shoot up from the floor. He turned from Celestia and Luna to see something right in front of him, looking straight into his eyes.

"Uhh…"

"You say you want clothing, correct? What exactly is it that you wear? Something flashy, something modest? I really am quite interested in how your kind wears themselves."

"Well, yeah I need some fresh duds; can't keep myself flapping in the wind and stuff. What I wear? When I'm not on duty I usually wear a T-Shirt and some jeans, maybe rock some Jordans if it's good out. When I'm actually waiting around for another mission, I usually wore my lucky suit, and man, was it a sexy piece of fabric. Oh and my kind and clothing? It's a multi-billion dollar industry all over the world with fashion designers all trying to make their name. I don't really dabble so much there, but a few grateful designers have given me some of their best after I've helped them out. Some of those were real amazing and straight up gangsta."

"I see… I suppose when we get back to Ponyville I could make something that fits your needs and brings out your eyes."

They both laughed, "Oh wow. Thanks, that'd be nice. Now, how would you want me to repay you? I have some money, but I don't think you take the Franklins here."

"The what?"

"Hundreds."

"Excuse me?"

"Big bucks."

"I can't say I know what you're talking about."

"Moolah, boodle, stacks, green, deniro, bones, and dosh?"

"Really, could you explain what you're saying?"

"Lodsemone?"

"Loads of money? You're talking about money? Well, I won't accept it. As a gift from myself, I will hand tailor some fine clothing for you."

"I can't accept that, and I have to pay you some way."

"I will not hear of it. You must simply accept!"

Rick sighed, "Fine," he began muttering under his breath, "then I'll just slip you the money later on."

"What was that?"

"Hmm?"

"You were muttering about slipping me something?"

"Oh no, I was talking about slipping into the fine something you'll make for me. I'm sure it's going to be one fly get-up."

"Yes, fly. Well, I'll leave you to discuss with the Princesses while I make arrangements to head back to Ponyville tonight."

Celestia walked over to her and smiled, "Why, you must stay until morning at least, it would be unwise to travel at night. You'd surely get lost if you walked, and the chariots wouldn't be able to properly fly in case of any passing creatures or Pegasi."

Rarity frowned, "I suppose you're right… Well, then if there's nothing to be done for tonight, I'm off to bed. All this excitement has left me a mess!"

She trotted out the room as Rick watched her leave. He turned to the group, keeping his face straight.

"So, where can I get a job?"

The tough-gal Pegasus focused herself and stared at Rick, "Why would you need a job?"

"Because I'm not a freeloader? I'm not going to bother staying here if I can't earn my keep."

"Well… can you fly?"

"Not without a jet."

"A wha- never mind. I guess I got nothin' then. Well, cya, I'm pretty tired too." She turned to the other four her size, "You guys coming?"

After hearing some jumbled words spoken all at once, they agreed it was best to finally call it a night.

The purple one, Twilight Sparkle, walked to Rick.

"It was real nice meeting you Rick. Maybe you could tell me about the technology or magic in your world some time?"

"Magic? Not sure if that really exists, but I could tell you what I know."

He got closer and whispered, "Hey between you and me, what the hell is up with that pink one over there?" He pointed to Pinkie Pie as she mindlessly sat down observing her hoof by moving it farther and closer to her face.

"Pinkie Pie? She's a bit eccentric and she can do real weird things at times, but she never caused anypony harm. I think you might like her, she throws real fun parties. Which reminds me, she may throw one for you if you're not careful."

"I hate parties where people try to introduce me to other people. Never ends up being fun. That's what she's probably going to do, right? An introduction party so everyone can get to know me or something cheesy like that?"

"Trust me, I felt the same way when I first came to Ponyville, but I actually learned they were real fun! You should try them; there hasn't been a pony that hasn't enjoyed them yet!"

"Just warn me ahead of time, ok? The last thing I need is to be shouted out when I'm not ready."

"Will do. By the way, sorry for losing my temper earlier. Well, good night!"

"Don't worry about it. Peace out."

Rick got up from the bed, still clutching the blanket to his waist. He watched as all the others left, leaving him with only the Princesses and their guards. He turned to Luna and opened his mouth, but was cut off by Celestia.

"I'm sorry to leave you Sister, but I must raise the sun in a few hours and I'd really like to sleep for now."

Luna smiled, "I have this taken care of, go on and sleep."

Celestia smiled back and then turned to Rick, "Luna will take care of you for now, try your best to recover from your injuries."

"Ahh, don't worry about me, not only am I quick healer, but I've survived worse. Thanks though. Oh and one more thing."

"Yes?"

"Where are my shorts? They couldn't have gotten too bad right? And my shoes probably have a smear or two here and there right? I don't expect the shirt to have survived though; Tobias must have cut through that like bloody butter."

"I believe one of the nurses put your clothing under the bed. They were going to dispose of them, but Luna here advised them against it in case you may have needed it."

Rick turned to Luna and chuckled, "Smart thinking, I didn't want to wear this blanket for the rest of the night."

Celestia raised a brow, "The rest of the night? Aren't you tired?"

"After three days of sleep? I don't think so. And besides, I prefer the night; you can actually see things in the sky at night."

"Well, you two enjoy yourselves. I must be going; I can't focus in the morning without proper sleep. It was nice meeting you Rick, we should talk some more later."

"Gotcha. Oh and what about those guys?"

Rick pointed to the guards who still stood behind Celestia. She turned to see they were in fact still there.

"Oh well, they're relieved for tonight."

The guards' faces cracked for a moment, and Rick could see some kind of joy in their eyes.

"I think they deserve it after having to fight somepony like you. Oh and don't worry, they don't hold grudges. One more thing Rick, please try not to cause any trouble."

Rick gave a light laugh, to which the guards gave him dirty looks. He simply smirked and motioned them out. Celestia laughed and walked out, followed by the three guards. Rick bent down and grabbed under the bed, looking for his clothes. He felt something and grabbed a small pouch. He pulled it up to him and opened it. He began pulling out anything that managed to survive his encounter and laid them on the bed.

The shirt was obviously destroyed and blood red, while just about everything else seemed to survive with nothing out of the ordinary. He pulled out his shprts and his boxers fell out, him grabbing them quickly. Luna, amused, laughed while Rick gave a small frown.

"Would you mind?"

She was caught off guard, not sure what she had done wrong, "Yes?"

"Uhh, could you turn around?"

"Why?"

"Because I'm about to change into my clothes?"

"So why do you need me to turn around then?"

"It's a personal privacy thing among humans. I don't know if you guys roll the same way, but it's kind of embarrassing to be naked in front of someone else."

"Oh, I didn't realize you were so sensitive!"

"I am not sensitive; I just think it would be a bit weird for you to see something you may not want to see."

"Like what? I was with the nurses when they took you out of your clothing, and we were a bit perplexed about something. Is that horn farther down your waist where your magic comes from?"

Rick's eyes widened, "Yeah, right, magic." He began laughing hard at the odd conversation he was having. Luna wasn't having as much fun though, as she pouted at Rick not informing her of the joke.

"What exactly is so funny?"

Rick wiped a tear from his eyes and looked back at Luna, "Do you know what that was?"

"A horn that you have for using your magic?"

Rick laughed again, "Oh man, you don't know how weird that sounds… No, it's not a horn, it's a, hmm, how do I word this? I think the most appropriate phrase right now is 'reproductive organ'."

Luna's face fell, as she somehow became more pale.

"Y-you mean th-that was a-a…"

"Yeah. Impressed?"

"EWW! EW EW EW!"

Rick began laughing again, this time with more feeling. As Luna freaked out over her experience with human anatomy, Rick couldn't help but fall to the floor in a fit of laughs. After a minute, the laughing subsided as he got back up from the floor. Luna simply stared at him, not showing any emotion.

"What's wrong? You didn't think your reaction was funny?"

"No! I- I can't believe I saw that! I can understand why you prefer to wear something over _that!_"

"Yeah, so could you turn around? Let's not make this weirder than it needs to be."

Luna obliged and turned away from Rick. Once he felt that it was safe, he dropped the blanket and began putting on his boxers. It may have been his ego, but he could have sworn he saw Luna turn her head from his peripheral vision. She must have turned as soon as she made a barely audible chuckle. He quickly lifted his shorts, zipped them, buttoned it, and then sat to put his socks on.

"You can turn around now, that is if you didn't already."

Rick chuckled and got a look from Luna. He pulled out his shoes from the pouch and held them up.

"I love these AF1's. No matter how bad I treat them, they still look good."

He put his sneakers on and kicked the floor once with each. He got up and stretched as his spine cracked. He then remembered something and rubbed his stomach.

"Ugh, damn, I completely forgot. Do you guys have a bathroom with a shower or something? And a towel too maybe?"

"Of course, follow me."

They walked to the door, with Rick thinking the bathroom was out in the hallway. When he began walking out the door, Luna stopped him.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"Isn't the bathroom somewhere near the hallway?"

"No, each room has one. Didn't you notice this door here?"

To Rick's surprise, he did in fact miss the door hidden by the corner near the exit. He turned the handle and walked through, amazed by the small room's design. Despite its size, it was well decorated and appealed to Rick in some way.

"The towels are in the closet. I'll just wait out here for you."

"Thanks."

Rick closed the door and locked it.

* * *

><p>"Rick? What's taking so long? It's been over half an hour!"<p>

"I'll be out in just a minute. Actually, never mind, I'm getting out right now."

Rick unlocked the door and stepped out, now clean, shaven, and washed.

"You clean up nice. Now, are you ready to get some food? We don't have any kind of meat, but we have some delicious cooking around the castle."

"We're going to eat here? I kind of wanted to see the city at night."

"We can do that if you'd like. Twilight Sparkle informed me about a very nice diner not too far from here that she highly recommended."

"Won't it seem a bit odd to everyone that the Princess is walking around with a giant bi-pedal creature with no shirt on?"

"I'll be honest, I couldn't care less."

Rick smiled and opened the door, gesturing Luna out.

"A gentlecolt, my, my."

"I try."

* * *

><p>"Wow, this place is real nice. Maybe I'm just saying that because the night is so beautiful tonight, but this city is really something special."<p>

"You really think my night is beautiful?"

"Your night? You made this?"

"Yes, and frankly, I don't think many people notice the work I put into it."

"How couldn't they? I mean where I'm from, the only place you could get such clear vision of the night sky is on a mountain or in space. So, is it like an art for you?"

"You could say that. I guess you're right, the sky is my canvas in a way."

"That must be great, changing the night sky at will, making such amazing things. It was always my dream since I was a little kid to go into space and be among the stars. I didn't know I would be so scared of getting into space though, and man, was _that_ a trip. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't love it. There's just something so mysterious about space. Some kind of mystical beauty that you can't fully understand."

"No one's ever said that about my work before. Thank you."

"I should be thanking you, for all you've been doing for me."

"It was nothing out of my way, trust me. Well we're here, let's get something to eat!"

* * *

><p>"How are you fi- Oh! Princess Luna! Excuse me for being so informal; let me get you a private table!"<p>

"Really, that's fine; we'd just like a booth by the windows."

"S-sure! Just follow me! I'm Fine Dining, your waiter tonight. Are you alone, if you don't mind me asking, Your Highness?"

"No, I'm actually here with a friend. He should be outside 'tying his shoe'. I'm not exactly sure what that means, but he seems to like those very interesting accessories. Covering for non-hooved creatures feet, I can't seem to understand it very well."

"Uhh, non-hooved Ma'am?"

"You'll underst- oh! Here he is now!"

The waiter began stuttering in astonishment at the creature that had just walked through the doors. It was large, taller than any pony he'd ever seen. There was something about it that kept Fine Dining interested in it, other than that fact it was not something he'd nor probably anyone else had seen before. Whatever it was, it seemed docile enough right now.

"Took care of that shoe." He walked past Fine Dining and patted him on the back of the neck, "What's up?"

"Hello? So… What can I get you two?"

"A daisy salad for me, please."

"Got it, and um, you, sir?"

"What is it exactly you serve here? Other than daises and flowers?"

"Well, we have all kinds of soups, salads, desserts, breakfast platters, dinner platters, and lunch platters. Our specialty today is an excellent blueberry pie made by our very own Cloche. She's quite the cook, ya' know."

"Blueberry pie? I was looking for something with more kick, but that's fine. You wouldn't happen to have a Dr. Pepper would you?"

"I'm sorry sir, but this isn't a hospital."

"It's a drink, not an actual doctor. Anyway, the blueberry pie is fine."

"Would you two like sarsaparillas with that?"

"Sure."

"Ok, so a daisy salad, blueberry pie, and two sarsaparillas, got it. We'll have it done for you in a few minutes."

Fine Dining walked off with his notepad and ripped out the most recent page, hanging it on a line in front of the kitchen window. Rick turned back to Luna and they began conversing about different things that interested them. One thing in particular that came up was astronomy.

"The only really interesting thing that I studied during those thousand years was astronomy. I learned and named so many different stars and constellations during that time. I should catalogue them one day, so everyone can find a specific one they like."

"A book about stars? Sounds like a plan. Who would have thought that giant, flaming balls of ga-"

"Here's your food, enjoy!"

Fine Dining laid both the blueberry pie and salad on the table, then grabbed the sarsaparillas and gave one each to the two sitting at the booth.

"Thanks man."

"Who?"

"Nothin'."

Fine Dining gave Rick a confused look as Luna giggled at him. He walked away, not sure how to feel about what just happened. Rick grabbed his fork and stuck it in the pie while Luna put croutons on her salad. He pulled the fork to his mouth and took a bite. Luna noticed when he suddenly stopped and dropped the fork on the table. He swallowed, got up, and moved to the counter.

A bit intimidated, Fine Dining looked up at the creature looming over him, "Sir?"

"Where's the cook?"

"Wha-"

"I asked, 'Where's the cook?'"

"Sh-she's right behind there!"

Fine Dining pointed to the window between the kitchen and the rest of the diner. Rick walked over and hit the bell on the stand. He heard something walking over to him and was met by a pony that seemed just like one he might have met in a diner in the middle of nowhere. She was a yellowish color with an orange, frizzy mane, had a pair of thick-rimmed glasses on, wore an apron, and had a pencil behind her right ear. A regular pony with neither wings or a horn, her specialty must be somewhere in cooking.

"What can I do for ya, honey?"

"Did you make that blueberry pie sitting on that table over there?" Rick pointed to his table.

"Why yes I did. Why, you don't like it?"

Rick took in a deep breath, "Ma'am, that was the best damn piece of pie that I have ever tasted in all my time of traveling in the world. I don't think anyone from where I'm from can outdo that pie you just made for me. That thing was beyond amazing, and I honestly didn't think it was possible for something to taste so good."

"Why thank ya honey, I love it when folks come in to tell me how much they loved my cooking!"

"I only have one question though."

"And what's that darlin'?

"How did you make that pie so good?"

She laughed loudly and looked back at Rick, "Sorry honey, that's something I'll only share to someone who can prove they cook up a storm in the kitchen."

Rick put his elbow on the window, "Oh? And you don't think I can cook?"

"Well, I'd be impressed if ya could cook well. Why don'tcha prove it darlin'?"

"Deal, and if I prove how good I am, you give me the recipe to the pie."

"Well, I don't know how well ya gonna be able to cook without a cutie mark that's about this art form. Hmm, come to think of it, ya don't have one at all, do ya?"

"What's a cutie mark?"

"Oh my darlin', only the most important sign about what a pony loves to do with their lives! But you don't have one, do ya?"

"Well, I'm not a pony, so no. But hey, that only means that my talents can be whatever I want them to be. And trust me, I may not look it, but I can cook pretty well."

"Well I'd like to see that. How's tomorrow, 'round lunch? You could help out a bit, I'll throw you a few bits, and we'll talk all about cookin'."

"That'd be fun. Well, I gotta get back to my pie, which is delicious by the way."

She laughed, "Honey, I think you already said that."

"Yeah, but it deserves two compliments."

Rick began walking back to his table when she called out to him.

"Wait darlin', you never gave me your name!"

"I'm Rick, and you're Cloche right?"

"The one an' only! I'll see you later!"

"You too, oh and one more thing."

"What's that honey?"

"Tomorrow, I'd like to work off my debt."

"Your debt?"

"I can't have her pay, and my money is no good here, so I was wondering if you could let me pay it off tomorrow through some work."

"Her?"

She looked over Rick's shoulder and saw Princess Luna. She gasped and got back down.

"Th-that's Princess L-Luna! In my diner! I can't wait to tell everyone about this! Ooo, my diner will be famous!"

Rick gave her a moment to calm down, "So, is that ok?"

"You betcha sugar! Anything for a friend of the Princess!"

"Thanks for understanding. So what time do you want me to drop by?"

"'Round noon if ya can."

"Perfect, I'll be there to show you my amazing cookery skills."

"Good honey, I want to see 'em! Oh and enjoy that pie ya hear?"

"Will do."

Both of them walked away, and as Rick passed Fine Dining, he saw that he was looking at him incredulously, as if he did something amazing. Rick turned to him and tried to come off as non-threatening as possible.

"Something wrong?"

Fine Dining flinched, "Sir, Cloche never offers to share her recipes with anyone! I don't know how you did it, but you made history in this diner!"

"I don't think it was really worthy of saying it made history. Well, I'm off to finish that pie. Oh, and I already discussed with Cloche about paying for the food, so don't bother with a check."

"Okay then, sir! Enjoy the pie!"

"Thanks."

Rick walked back to his booth and sat down across from Luna. She watched him as he took another bite from his pie as if nothing happened.

"What was that?"

"What was what?"

"That! You just went over there so serious I thought you were going to strangle that poor boy! Did you really like that pie so much?"

"Oh yeah, it was pretty ballin'. So, how are you liking that salad?"

"It's good, but it's lacking a little something."

Rick took a chunk of his pie and slapped it on top of Luna's salad. She looked at him in astonishment as he chuckled.

"Now it has everything you need and more. Nah, seriously though, you gotta try some of this, it's amazing."

Luna levitated her fork in front of her and took a piece of the pie chunk into it.

"Wait; try it with some salad at the same time."

"Try it with the salad? Are you mad? How could that possibly taste good together?"

Rick laughed a little, "No, but the pie is amazing, so why wouldn't they taste amazing together? Here, just mix it up a bit, and BAM! something new."

Luna looked at the odd mix of food in front of here with skepticism.

"Scared?"

Luna huffed then pushed aside her skepticism to make way for determination. She lifted the work into the air, took a piece of the salad pie, then ate it. After a split second of chewing and tasting it, she stopped. She looked at Rick who was smirking, then put down the fork. She swallowed, then got up, walking over to the window to the kitchen as both Rick and Fine Dining watched.

She tapped the bell and waited for Cloche. When she arrived, Rick could hear them talking about something, but he couldn't make out what. After a few minutes, Luna came back and sat down again.

"What was that?"

"What was what?"

"That! You just did what I did, didn't you?"

"Now Rick, why would you ever imply that I did the same thing as you did? Besides, I may have complimented her on her amazing cooking, but I told her about your idea."

"My what?"

"The salad pie idea. I'll admit I didn't think it would go well together, but I was surprised when I actually tasted it, so much that I asked her to put it on the menu."

"Put it on the menu? Was it really worth the trouble?"

"Of course! Don't you think other ponies should be able to try something so delicious?"

Rick heard the diner door opening behind him, but kept focus on the conversation with Luna.

"Who's going to want to try something so weird though? I guess you're right though, it probably did taste good. You know, Luna, you remind me a lot of som-"

Rick stopped, feeling something was wrong.

Luna looked at him curiously, not sure what happened, "Is something wrong?"

Rick didn't say anything for a moment.

"You feel that?"

"What should I be feeling?"

"Someone is watching us."

"Well, I wouldn't be surprised. We aren't exactly the most normal pair walking around Canterlot in the middle of the night. You're probably just feeling Fine Dining or Cloche giving us the occasional interested look."

"No, this is the person who just walked in."

Luna moved slightly to her side to see if said pony actually was watching them, but was blocked by Rick.

"Don't look, it'll let whoever it is know that we know that they know that there's something to know, right now. I'm going to get up and bring the plates to Fine Dining, give the pony a quick look over before it notices and tell me if you recognize them."

"Alright, but I don't understand why you're getting so worked up about this."

"When you've been in the espionage game for as long as I have, you develop a sixth sense for these kinds of things. Trust me on this."

Rick grabbed the plates and the empty sarsaparillas and took them to the counter where he began talking to Fine Dining. He put down the clutter and motioned for him to get closer.

"Yo Fine, tell me, is that pony that came in a regular?"

"No sir, haven't seen her in here as far as I know. Then again, Canterlot is a big city full of lots of ponies, so I doubt I'd remember a lot of the people who come in here. Why? Is there something wrong?"

"Maybe… So you don't recognize her?"

"No, I'm sorry."

Rick clicked his tongue, "Thanks anyway," and walked back to his booth. He sat down and spoke to Luna.

"Recognize her?"

"Possibly. If I remember right, that happens to be one of the doctors at Canterlot General Hospital. We did a fundraiser event there not too long ago and judging by her cutie mark, I'd say she has some position there."

"What's the mark?"

"The serpent rod over an oddly shaped star."

"The symbol of modern medicine." Rick was silent for a moment. "Let's leave."

"Are you really this worked up over her?"

"Something doesn't seem right. Let's just walk around for a little bit and see if she follows."

"Fine by me, I wouldn't mind taking a stroll through the city at night."

"Me neither."

Rick and Luna got up and walked over to the door. Rick held it open for Luna as he called out, "Hey Fine, Cloche! We'll see you at noon, alright? Have a nice night."

"You too sir!"

"Have fun darlin'!"

Rick walked out the door and met Luna by a light post.

"So… You actually know the layout of the city, where are you going to lead me?"

"The park is nice right now, and it's only a few blocks away from here. Do you want to go see it?"

"Sounds nice, let's go."

* * *

><p>"So you felt unappreciated? That's why you did it?"<p>

"Yes, and I'm not proud of it."

"I would be; it takes confidence and determination to be able to try and do something like bring eternal night. But then again, you were pretty much setting yourself up as the villain and your sister as the hero. If you would have gotten your subjects to turn against her, you might have actually won."

"I don't want to even consider what would have happened if I defeated my sister. The world can't survive on eternal night."

"Well, forget the eternal night and just rule by yourself. Doing the eternal night thing would only get your pony subjects mad at you."

"I wish I had never let my feelings get ahead of me like that. I should have talked with her about it, not lash out against her in anger."

"Don't worry about it, over time, ponies will forget it all happened just like they forgot it happened for a thousand years. Time is the most useful tool a long living person can have, and from what I hear, you live forever."

"Yes, well I can't sa-"

"AGH! SHIT!"

Rick slapped at his neck by reaction, only to be greeted an even larger amount of sharp pain. He grabbed around and pulled out what looked like a dart. He examined it quickly and put it in a lower pocket on the side of his shorts. He flipped around, trying to find where it came from. Some nearby bushes shook, and Rick groaned as his eye sight began changing wildly. Luna frantically looked for whoever shot at Rick with the dart, but didn't notice the bush. Rick pushed Luna forward as he began moving down the street, despite his legs starting to feel like lead.

"Go, go, go! Someone got me with a poison that's either lethal or just a temporary mind and body fuck."

They quickly made their way down a street, while Rick looked back to see if whatever attacked him was following. He started to feel heavier and heavier as breathing became harder. His vision almost faded right as he saw the same pony that entered the diner earlier. Right as he was about to turn the corner, he was knocked off his feet with a swift swing of some large tool straight to the abdomen. He fell forward, grabbing at his abdomen in pain.

Rick forced himself to roll out of the way before another hit landed on his head. As it came down, he saw that it was a large sledgehammer, one that was obviously too big and unnecessary for a pony. Despite his body about to give way, he got up and limped to Luna. He turned back to see the pony from earlier next some human. His vision went from fading into black to wild colors and circles floating and crisscrossing all over his eyes.

As he and Luna tried backing up and heading in the opposite direction, they were cut off by the pony from earlier, now holding a saw in the air with her levitation. Rick pushed Luna in another direction as they went down another street. He looked back to barely make out two figures simply walking towards them.

Under so much stress, his lungs were soon giving out on him, forcing him to stop. After a moment, they continued quickly and turned another corner, heading down the street it led to. Rick stopped again by an alleyway and looked at Luna.

"Listen, I'm not going to be able to get away. My legs are shot, my eyes are almost gone, and I'll probably just slow you down. You gotta go get some help, ASAP."

"Rick, I can't just leave you to hold out against those two! They'll destroy you in your current state!"

"Don't worry about me, I have the feeling that they won't try to kill me." Rick looked back at the corner, "You don't have much time before they see you leave, so go! NOW!"

Rick threw his arm up and pointed to the diner, "Ask them for help, call your sister, the guards, _whatever!_ Just get some help!"

"Bu-"

He glared at her with bloodshot eyes and yelled at the top of his lungs, "_**GO!**_"

She looked at him, scared of his sudden hostility, and then galloped down the street and towards the diner. Rick began panting, then laid against the alley's walls, trying to calm himself down. He looked over and saw those two figures close by. He stood up again and stepped out into the street, nowhere near ready to fight.

"Who the hell are you? Why are you after me?"

They said nothing back, and Rick couldn't make out the slightest detail about their looks. He started to stumble, losing his balance. Getting a grip, he stood up again, ready to fight. The two figures closed in and circled Rick. By instinct, he knew to attack the human, who could obviously do more damage with its sledgehammer. He quickly turned and attempted to run at it, only to trip. He slowly got back and tried to get close, only to be bucked forward by the pony behind him. He felt face forward, hitting his jaw on the stone street.

He yelled out in pain when he felt someone stomp on his back. He tried getting up, but didn't have the strength to even roll out of the way. Someone used their foot to push Rick onto his back. He looked up and saw the figures' details being darkened by the bright light post above them. All he could make out was a foot that came crashing down on his head, making everything dark once again.

* * *

><p>A new chapter? What's it been, a week or two? This chapter is a bit weird, but I thought Rick should finally have a chance to take a break from all the hate and fighting. Of course, that stuff doesn't tend to last long for him before he's dragged back into another situation. Anyway, it should be obvious who attacked him, but what that person will do is what's going to be interesting. Expect the next chapter to be disturbing in a few different ways, depending on how high your tolerance of pop culture references regarding global terrorists and FBI agents fighting like they were in the Matrix is. That one won't be direct, but I think it's going to be a bit creepy. Also, expect some light to be shed on Rick and his past encounters (just some incoherent explanations here and there, not another 30,000 word chapter).<p>

One thing I kept asking myself during this chapter was, "Why is Rick bonding in any form with Luna?" The way I wrote it, they hated each other, but now I can work off of that as a misunderstanding in some way. There is some common ground there, both have that whole "we're giving you a second chance because everyone deserves one" thing. Luna with the whole NMM fiasco and Rick with pretty much breaking laws left and right.

The salad pie thing by the way, I wouldn't recommend it. I put that in as a joke and I honestly think it would taste disgusting if anyone tried it. And yeah, I always planned on Rick having cooking skills, it just never really fit in another chapter because he always had rations. Also, thanks to an Anon and Twilight Snarkle for the names Fine Dining and Cloche, respectively. Cloche was inspired by how those diners in the middle of nowhere always had those nice waitresses or cooks, while Fine Dining was inspired by those classic soda jerks.

Well, that's about all there is to say about this chapter. As always, leave a review, post in the ponychan thread, or email if you have a question.

Stay trilla.


	13. Chapter 13

**Stasis**

**Chapter 13: A Night to Remember**

**By: Stillmatic**

* * *

><p>"<em>How have you been handling things?"<em>

"_It isn't easy. I'll be honest; being around them makes me feel kind of vulnerable."_

"_You shouldn't feel that way. They're docile and won't even think to hurt you if you don't do anything bad."_

"_I hope it never does come down to anything bad. They're fine, yeah, but some of them really get on my nerves."_

"_Rick, I hate to say it, and you know I mean that, but you can't just leave everything behind because of what they said to you."_

"_I- I know… But a man can dream… It sucks you know? Being the one to make the sacrifices and never getting any of the credit. Being the faceless expendable who no one knows about. Maybe here, I can actually be someone, someone real."_

"_You know that's not for you Rick. They aren't your kind, we are."_

"_My kind betrayed me in my hour of need and sliced open my belly. What allegiance do I have to people like that?"_

"_You know why he did it. Trust me, he doesn't like what he does, but he was right that one time in Moscow; he's a good actor. He knows how to keep a façade, and well. I'm not saying make a truce, I'm saying try to understand that he may not be in the best situation right now either."_

"_Screw him, I come before him."_

"_I know you don't mean that. You guys became good teammates."_

"_Right, teammates. Nothing else."_

"_Don't lie Rick, it'll only cloud your judgment later."_

"_I don't want to talk about this anymore."_

"_Fine, what do you want to talk about?"_

"_I've been wondering this for a long time… Do you forgive me?"_

"_Forgive you for what?"_

"_Back at Shephard's Island. The labs."_

"_That wasn't your fault."_

"_How can you say that? I left you behind to help Aden. I never should have done that."_

"_That's what I wanted Rick. You really need to understand that was the best way for things to turn out slightly in our favor."_

"_But I lost you. How can I call that the 'best way'?"_

"_Rick, this is going to sound cheesy, but Mom was right. Even when you lose the things you care about, they'll always find a way back to you somehow. It may be subtle, it may be direct, but it will always come back in some way."_

"_I hope you come back one day. I don't care if you're a ghost or whatever; I just want to have a family again."_

"_Start a family when you're done with this."_

"_You know I can't do that."_

"_You're not on Earth anymore Rick. The government can't reach you here."_

"_You'd be surprised how long their arms are…"_

"_Trust me; you'll come to your senses one day."_

"_I don't like it Jenine. I don't like fighting anymore. Why do my job, my past, and my regrets keep calling me back? Why can't I finally get some peace?"_

"_I don't know the answer to that one. Everyone finds their peace one day. The rest of the team has. You know we can't, not yet."_

"_Why though?"_

"_We have roles to fulfill, jobs to do. We can't just stop right now, not when we're needed."_

"_Who are we needed by? The U.S. has more than enough agents. They don't need me."_

"_Not the U.S. Rick, something else."_

"_What?"_

"_I won't tell you. You'll learn that for yourself soon. Learn to fight for what you believe in again, for a cause. I'll admit it Rick, you're tough, but even tougher to look after."_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_I've been watching everything since that day. Those bullets that graze past your hair or arms? That was me pushing them away. All that blood that you lose? Given back by me. The friends you've made? Pushed there by me. Even that little bug of yours."_

"_Jenine."_

"_Yes?"_

"_Am I dreaming?"_

"_No."_

"_I can't believe that."_

"_You have to."_

"_When I wake up, I won't remember this. Even if I did, I wouldn't believe it."_

"_That's fine, as long as it happened."_

"_How do I get out?"_

"_You can't."_

"_Why not?"_

"_You aren't able to and it's not my job to let you out. Someone else will."_

"_Who?"_

"_You'll see. Tell him I said 'Hi'."_

"_Fine. I hope we can talk again, it's been nice to have a human to talk to."_

"_Until later, bro. I'll keep in contact, just be on the lookout for signs."_

_"One more thing, Jenine."_

_"What?"_

_"Should I trust them? I honestly don't beleive they're willing to give me a second chance."_

_"Trust is a complicated thing Rick. I can't say for sure if they're genuine, but don't put yourself in any vulnerable spots, okay?"_

_"Are they working an angle? Are they just trying to get something from me, or distract me long enough for them to stick me in a lab and run tests on me?"_

_"Like I said Rick, I can't say for sure. Listen, it's time to go, I'll see you later."_

_"Alright, peace out."  
><em>

* * *

><p>There was some kind of darkness. He couldn't see or think straight. Something was going to happen. He felt it. Everything felt so clouded and foggy. He couldn't even feel anything. He tried moving his head. He heard through his muffled hearing that something was getting closer. He could only try to focus his eyes to the darkness. Something was over his face and he couldn't tell what.<p>

Suddenly, he was covered in icy water that shook him from head to toe. He was forced awake, and now colder than he could want. Whatever was over his head was removed, forcing him to squint in the blinding light of the room. He looked away, but something grabbed him by his chin and forced his face to the light above. He tried closing his eyes, but they were forced open by another hand. He groaned, not wanting to have to deal with whoever this was.

Within a few moments, he was let go, hanging his head. He felt a punch to his jaw, forcing pain into his nerves as he hung helplessly from wherever he was. The light moved away, letting him see his surroundings.

He was in a dark, damp, and dirty basement of sorts, strapped to a large board of wood attached to the wall. It seemed to be able to slide into different positions from the looks of the mechanics of it. Held at a point where he was fully presented against the board, Rick looked around for whoever captured him. He saw the pony from earlier in a corner of the room holding that same saw, inspecting it with her hooves. Over to his right, was someone over an operating tool table, moving various things around. The person turned with a dark smile directed at Rick.

Rick's heart stopped for a second, right before he became livid.

"TOBIAS YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!"

"Now Rick, calm down bitte. No need to make so much noise!"

Tobias walked over to Rick while grabbing a roll of duct tape. Ripping off a piece, he placed it on Rick's mouth, effectively lowering his volume.

"Now, I've been tasked with," he pointed to Rick, "information retrieval and keeping the patient alive." Tobias threw his hands into the air, laughing. "I'm sorry, but I was only _joking_! I'm here to kill you!"

Rick tried speaking, but it stayed muffled, "Sroo yoo."

"What was that?"

"Fuuuccc yoo."

"Speak up Rick," Tobias began laughing again while Rick struggled against the chains that held him in place.

"Now, there's something I want to inspect before anything…" Tobias moved over to Rick and examined the stitches in his abdomen. Tobias looked back and grabbed a scalpel, making Rick's eyes widen in a mix of anger and fear.

"Who did such an amateur stitching job? What is this, bio-degradable stitches? Tsk, I expected much better. Well, no matter, I'll just replace them."

Tobias slowly started using the scalpel to pluck and cut the wires of stitches holding Rick's wounds closed. Rick felt a pang of pain for each one as they allowed a wound to open just a little bit more. Rick, panting now from the stress, looked at Tobias with pure spite. Tobias yanked out the last of the stitching and tossed it over his shoulder, forcing Rick to yell out in pain.

"Don't worry, I am a doctor. Wait… Was. Was a doctor."

Rick's abdomen tore open, spilling out blood and intestines.

"I was right Rick, you are messy! Nothing to worry about, I can clean it up later."

Tobias grabbed for a part of Rick's large intestines and pulled more out. He swung it over his neck and posed.

"Just like the Hollywood stars, ja?"

Laughing, Tobias pulled off the intestines and rammed them back into Rick's abdomen. He turned and pulled the table of medical equipment closer to him. He held up a metal rod to Rick's face.

"I know how you love your, how you say it, 'bling'? So I got these for you instead of those awful stitches."

"Yoor fookinn crrazii."

"Do I need to put you on anesthesia? Well, be quiet then." He tapped his bloody finger to his chin, "Well, perhaps I should hear what you have to say instead…"

With a quick tear, Tobias ripped the tape off of Rick's mouth. Wincing in pain, Rick spat at Tobias' face. That earned him another quick punch to the jaw again, but at least he got Tobias back in some way.

"Don't you dare fucking put those pieces of metal in me!"

"The doctor knows better than the patient!"

With that, Tobias began using medical glue on a bar. He placed it above the wounds, letting it set while he glued another under the wounds. Making sure they stayed in place, he began grabbing the opening of the first wound he saw and used some kind of tool to punch holes in both sides of skin, causing great pain. After putting two holes in Rick's abdomen, he inserted a bar through both, connecting each end to the vertical bars glued to his body.

Tobias pulled out a small blowtorch and began welding the bars together. Wiping his brow from only putting in one so far, he reached for another and repeated the whole process over and over again until he deemed Rick's stomach wounds closed. He stood back and examined his work as Rick looked down, barely conscious, at his abdomen. To him, it looked like someone replaced part of his body with a cage.

"Very well done, yes?"

"Go to hell…"

"Ja, what's next? Hm, did I introduce my new assistant?"

Tobias turned around and called over the pony lying down. She moved over and looked at Rick with blank eyes. Rick focused himself enough to get a good enough look of the pony who hated him enough to try and kill him. She was a silvery color, a unicorn, and kept a completely blank and unemotional face that sent a shiver down Rick's spine. Her blue mane went along with the blue star and serpent rod mark on her backend. It clicked to Rick why Tobias would team up with someone like her, most likely for her experience.

"This is Neuralia, a surgeon who works at a nearby hospital. She 'agreed' to help me find you and subdue you for no cost at all!"

Rick saw her cold, lifeless eyes and looked back at Tobias, "What did you do to her?"

"Do? Why would you ever imply I did something Rick?"

"Because you're a conniving asshole is why!"

"Tsk tsk, really now, name calling? Please grow up, Rick."

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?"

"Keep your voice down! I will not tolerate yelling in the operating room!"

"Or what?"

Tobias chuckled, pulling out a scalpel from his shirt pocket. He held it to the neck of Neuralia, ready to slice her jugular and all. She didn't give the slightest reaction, and still stared at Rick. Rick looked back, tensing up at the thought that he would have caused a death indirectly. His instincts told him that he had no part in it, but something told him otherwise.

"Fine, do whatever; just pull the scalpel away from her."

Tobias gave a low laugh, "Yes, I knew you'd come to see it my way… You've become soft Rick, and that makes you an even bigger liability. Pathetic, really. Sympathizing with these 'ponies' over fellow humans. Disgusting. Now, watch closely."

Tobias bent down and leaned close to Neuralia's face. He looked back at Rick and stuck his tongue out. At first, Rick thought Tobias was being childish, but he soon saw what his real intention was. Slowly, Tobias ran his tongue up the side of Neuralia's face, her reaction unchanging. Rick, visibly disgusted, felt goosebumps at the sight.

Tobias, finishing, smiled, "Mmm, peaches…"

Rick, despite his pain, struggled against his binds in a vain attempt to strangle Tobias. Tobias simply laughed, and walked over to Rick. Still laughing, he flipped the scalpel between his fingers, and then jammed it into Rick's left thigh. Rick yelled out as Tobias sliced his way down, cutting as much tissue as possible. Yanking it out forcefully, Tobias wiped the blood off of the scalpel with Rick's shorts.

"Let's continue. Do you like the proposition of bei-"

Tobias frowned when he realized Rick wasn't listening to him and hung lifelessly from chains. He looked to the heart monitor and saw that it flat-lined. Sighing in disappointment, he turned to the table and grabbed shock paddles. Charging them up, he pressed them into Rick, who miraculously came back to life struggling to break free.

Tobias, shocked by such sudden movement after nearly dying, regained his composure and laughed.

"Always a survivor."

He put the paddles away, not bothering to give any other standard procedure medical attention. Tobias grabbed a packet of pills, broke one out, and then forced it down Rick's throat. Rick, caught off guard, began staring at Tobias.

"What did you just give me?"

"Vinca."

"So that's how it's going to be? You want to keep me alive for your torture games?"

"These aren't 'torture games', this is medical science being practiced! Now, your heart is still incredibly slow pumping right now, I think I'll fix that."

Tobias grabbed a vial, and then shook it to make sure it was mixed properly. He pulled a syringe from his coat pocket and then pulled liquid into it from the vial. Rick wasn't sure what it was, but he had the feeling it would not end well for him in the least. Tobias flicked the syringe twice, and then injected it directly into a vein on Rick's right arm. Rick shuddered as he felt whatever it was crawl under his skin and into his blood system.

"What was th-"

"Adrenaline."

"You're trying to make my heart rupture?"

"Hadrian's adrenaline. Taken from him directly, with his permission of course. There may even be some blood of his mixed in there."

"Hadrian's adren- Look, I don't even know what that's going to do to me, but I'd just like to say th-"

Rick stopped. He began feeling very odd all of a sudden. The pain was starting to leave him, and he started to feel freer. He regained his senses and took in his surroundings fully now. He was in fact chained to a torture table in what looked like a basement, and he was in fact captured by Tobias and a pony doctor named Neuralia. He almost felt like laughing, but soon remembered his current situation.

"What's so special about his adrenaline?"

"Powerful men have powerful bodies that can produce powerful things," Tobias shrugged. "This is the first time it has been used on a different person. Tell me, for science's sake, how do you feel right now?"

"Amazing."

"And the pain?"

"Gone."

"Is there a feeling of change?"

"Yeah."

"Interesting… but you don't seem to be changing physically. I suppose it's more of a mental change for you, but…" Tobias grabbed his scalpel and ran it across Rick's chest. "Anything?"

"No."

"The wounds are already healing too… The Vinca must be working your system overtime. You realize, Rick, that you should _not_ be alive right now? Vinca can do wonders, but it cannot begin healing bodies this quickly. Something is wrong, but what? Maybe the conjunction of the adrenaline and Vinca forced your body to produce more cells faster? This is a medical mystery…"

Tobias stood in thought at what could possibly warrant Rick's odd survivability. Coming to no conclusion whatsoever, he decided to put it off for another time.

"What to test next… Ah, maybe I can find a way to force pain into you now."

Tobias grabbed a larger scalpel from his tray on the table and got closer to Rick. Rick's face fell when he saw Tobias get oddly close to his crotch.

"Whoa! What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

Tobias retracted the scalpel and placed it down while smirking, "Do not worry Rick, I am not a feminist."

Tobias began laughing uncontrollably at his own joke, hitting his hand down on the tray, launching dangerous tools close to him. They all missed, but he continued laughing. Rick had to admit he didn't see that one coming, and even he gave a chuckle. Calming down now, Tobias looked back at Rick with eyes of joy.

"Only one more thing now, Rick. Only one more."

"What are you going to do?"

Tobias turned and grabbed an odd looking, black pill. Rick could have sworn he recognized it from somewhere. Taking it out of its case, he popped it out and held it to Rick's face.

"You've taken an anabiotic before, correct?"

Rick narrowed his eyes, "Yeah?"

"This is like that. Except this does the complete opposite."

Rick's eyes widened, "Don't you dare do that you motherfucker! I will fucking _end you_ if you do that! I will shove my foot so far up your ass; I'll be able to kick your brain! I'll destroy y-"

Rick was cut off when Tobias forced the pill down Rick's throat. Keeping everything open to prevent Rick from spitting it out, Tobias dropped it down and let it fall to Rick's stomach. He pulled back and let go, allowing Rick to settle.

"You'll be feeling it soon. This 'antabiotic' works quickly."

"They're going to come back! They were never meant to come back!"

"Quiet Rick, this is science at work."

Rick watched in horror as he felt the drug taking effect. At first, he began hearing only faint sounds and whispers. Then, they became more apparent and loud.

"Give me an anabiotic! NOW!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that Rick, I have no more."

"Oh god… they're back! Get them away from me! GET THEM THE FUCK AWAY!"

Tobias watching in curiosity as he saw Rick writhe in fear at something that only he could see and feel.

"THE VOICES! THEY'RE HERE!"

"Interesting…"

Rick began hearing all of the voices of those he felt he caused the death of. From people he couldn't even remember, to even old team members, every single one was yelling, talking, and screaming at him at high volume. They all had something to say, and Rick was crumbling under the weight of all the voices' pressure.

"NO! STOP IT! I WON'T LOSE MY MIND!"

Even as much as Rick wanted to believe that, his psyche slowly came apart at the seams as he felt the voices tear him apart. Growing restless now, he began struggling hard for a chance to break free from the torture. He wanted to block it all out, but he couldn't as long as Tobias was willing to give him another antabiotic. The only place he could think of that had an anabiotic to numb the pain and silence the voices was his shuttle, and that was most likely miles upon miles away from here.

"I'LL KILL YOU TOBIAS! I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS!"

Rick's last piece of sanity finally left him as he tried breaking free like a wild animal, snarling in the process. Tobias was making interesting observations from the safety of a few feet away and took down notes. Rick snapped, and began yelling incoherently at the voices screaming back at him. Something in his brain finally clicked together as he suddenly stopped and became limp.

"Hmm?"

Tobias walked over and observed Rick. His heart monitor still kept a beat, even if it was very fast. He got close and looked up from the floor to see Rick's face. Suddenly, it flew up and began emitting light from his eyes and mouth. Tobias clutched at his head in pain as he felt Rick piercing his brain, disrupting his thoughts and bringing them to a halt. With no time to waste, he grabbed the bonesaw from Neuralia and swiped it to the left side of Rick's face, essentially stunning and stopping the barrage of pain Rick was inflicting.

Tobias, panting, looked at the bonesaw he was dragging to his side and held it up to himself. He looked back at Rick's face and saw that he had taken a piece of it when he slashed him. Rick looked up, his face in total disarray and bloody. Tobias, livid about what Rick had done, took the piece of Rick's face that stuck to the saw and held it up to Rick to get his attention. Then, he did something so inconceivably disgusting to Rick that he came out of his daze.

Tobias grabbed the piece of skin and flesh and took a bite of it. Ripping apart a piece with his teeth, he chewed it in his mouth while glaring at Rick. He spat that piece on the floor and tossed the rest over his shoulder.

"Bitter…"

"You're going to die for this."

"I hope to see you try."

"Oh you will, just wait for it."

"My apologies Rick, but I am not a patient ma-"

Tobias stopped, and then rushed to Rick's face. Getting close, he pulled out a flashlight from his shirt pocket and held it to Rick's right eye, forcing it open in the process. He switched and then backed away, shocked.

"You've been marked."

"I've been what?"

"Marked. Just like Hadrian."

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Your eye's pupil has been marked in a similar way to Hadrian. Remarkable. That must have been caused by the mental outburst from the antabiotic."

"You're telling me that my eye changed because of the drug?"

"No, it changed because of what you did after taking the drug!"

"What did I do?"

"You did exactly what your sister would have done. You disrupted."

Rick stayed silent for a moment and then looked back at Tobias.

"Bullshit."

"This is quite amazing…"

"What the hell are you staring at?"

"An eye, Rick, I need an eye from you."

"WHAT? FUCK OFF!"

Tobias grabbed a pair of medical scissors and stuck his index and middle finger under Rick's eyelid. With an expert's swiftness, he scooped out Rick's left eye in one quick motion. Rick, still under effects of the mysterious adrenaline, couldn't feel the pain of what was happening to him. He watched in horror as Tobias gave a quick snip to the tissue holding the eye in. It fell into his hands as he turned and put it somewhere in his bag. He turned around again and set the scissors down with a look of accomplishment.

"I have one less eye now asshole. One. Less. Eye. Do you fucking realize what that means?"

"You are now a Cyclops?"

"No. That I'm about to fuck you up. You know what I learned from these voices? Control. Control of a certain ability."

Rick smirked, despite his face being half destroyed and missing an eye.

"You see those canisters over there? Those _colloidal gas canisters_? Highly flammable, highly explosive."

Tobias narrowed his eyes, "You would not even dare."

"Oh? Now that I have this newfound power, I can do just about whatever, right?"

"You fool, it isn't new!"

"What?"

"Neither Hadrian or I have given you any sort of ability! What I gave you that day was a catalyst! You were too mentally weak to unlock the power, so we were forced to try other methods! You had it all along during your whole pathetic, miserable life, and you never knew! All because you could not see past what was in front of you! You would have been able to save your team if you actually were smart enough to release it from you! You would have had such an easier life!"

Rick was speechless. If what Tobias had told him was true, he had suffered needlessly at certain times in his life. Something snapped in Rick's head and he became livid and coursing with anger.

"I'm going to teach you what happens to people like you who fuck with me!"

Rick focused and slowly raised heat from his body. It warmed him as his anger took hold of his thoughts. He scowled and flipped his hand forward and towards the oxygen canisters. He built up the fire within him, fueled by his hate, and let loose a small ball of concentrated gas and fire directly at the canisters.

"YOU FOOL!"

Engulfed by the explosion, Rick passed out as he saw Tobias take cover behind a flipped table.

* * *

><p>It was still night as Rick came to on a destroyed city street. There was debris everywhere and fire had sparsely populated the area. The fire gave off an orange tinge to the setting, as if this were some kind of war zone at night. Rick slowly got up, pain slowly coming back to him. He looked around as he tried finding any traces of Tobias or his pony assistant. He saw the pony not too far from him, under a pile of random debris. He walked over and pulled her out, laying her on the street. He looked her over to see if she was still alive, but noticed something extremely odd. On her neck was a chip, one not too unlike Rick had.<p>

Not knowing what this meant, Rick decided that now was not the best time to play detective. He looked to his left and saw the destroyed building that must have been his torture chamber. The whole front of it was ripped open revealing all three floors. For the most part, all the floors were empty, minus the basement of course. The basement was full of charred items and some half-destroyed canisters.

He heard something rustling behind him as he turned quickly. He fell to the floor, barely missing the large stone slab that Tobias swung over him. He kicked Tobias away and got back up. Both of them looked away from each other and towards a street. They could see the large shadows of what looked like guard ponies coming to investigate. Tobias dropped the slab and backed away.

He pulled out an odd looking device from his tattered coat's pocket and pressed something down on it. He kept backing up as he stared at Rick, lightly smiling.

"Until next time, Rick. Stay alive until then, please. It has been a good night of fun we're sure to remember for years to come. Auf wiedersehen."

With that, Tobias faded slowly. He turned and walked away invisible to all eyes that night, his footsteps still echoing off the walls of buildings on empty streets. Rick turned back to the shadows and felt himself finally tire out once again. He walked over, panting now, to the pony lying on the street. He saw a puddle nearby and limped over.

Looking in, he saw the extensive damage Tobias inflicted on his body. His abdomen looked like a train wreck, half of his face was carved like a turkey, he was missing an eye, and various cuts lay across his body. He noticed that the wounds were now openly bleeding again, signaling that the Vinca's coagulation inducing elements were finally wearing off. The powerful adrenaline of a man Rick knew barely anything about stopped coursing through his body, allowing pain back in. He silently wondered what was it that made him feel so invincible when the chemical was in him.

He lightly touched the missing portion of his face and sighed. He moved his finger to his empty eye socket and gave it a gentle tap. He cringed when he felt his finger go through, allowing some blood to drip out. Left with his thoughts, his mind wandered once again. He realized something right there, something that worried him, yet relieved him at the same time. There were no voices.

But as if on cue, he began hearing very faint whispers. He gripped his head and focused himself, trying to block out the extremely intrusive and disheveling sounds. Nonetheless, they slowly pierced through and crawled into his thoughts. They were all talking at once, and none gave him any solace for what he had done in his life. He hit himself and yelled for the voices to stop, forcing his mind to come back from the brink and into the present situation. He still felt the presence of the voices, but now he could work through it, even if it would come back in full strength later on.

Tired, he lied down on a slab of stone lying on the street. Rick looked up and observed the sky.

"I love it. What a roof…"

Rick heard what sounded like dozens of quick moving footsteps nearby, but paid no attention as he saw the stars in the night sky. Cuffing his hands together to form a makeshift pillow, he rested and relaxed despite the blood loss he was experiencing. He heard the footsteps get closer, and he could hear yelling directed somewhere near him. His attention was taken away from the sky when a few recognizable ponies looked down at him.

"Is he still alive?"

"I don't know, someone check his pulse!"

"What about this one? She's a doctor, what's she doing here?"

"Doesn't matter, get her to the hospital!"

Rick broke his statuesque silence and looked at the ponies. Slightly shocked, they held a light to his eye for him to follow. Annoyed, he pushed it away and sat up, resting his arms on his knees. Now able to get a look, he saw who these ponies were.

Some of the ones from earlier had heard his story were here, but they seemed to stay silent for the most part as the guards examined his wounds and checked him for anything lethal. One got close to his face to see the missing flesh, but Rick used his hand to push him away.

"Gimme some space… And some perks. I need lots of perks, right now."

"Perks, sir?"

"Percocets."

"I don't know what this is, sir."

"Pain killers! I need fuckin' pain killers!"

Slightly intimidated by the harshness and sudden hostility, the guard looked back with a sympathetic look.

"Sir, we'll have to get you to the hospital first. If you'd please come with us, we'll be glad to get you so-"

"No."

"Excuse me?"

"No more hospitals, no more doctors. I don't know how many others of them Tobias brainwashed into killing me."

"Brainwashed, sir?"

"They've been chipped, and their bodies are shells ready to be controlled by whoever controls the chip. Look at this one."

Rick got up and pushed past the guards treating the pony lying unconscious on the ground. He turned her neck and pointed to the chip.

The guard gave a light gasp, "What is that?"

"The same thing I got in me." Rick rubbed at the back of his neck and then grew slightly heavier. "She may not recover from this, let alone walk again."

"She seems perfectly fine minus some bruises and scratches."

"Not those, what I'm about to do."

"Wait, what are you going to do?"

Rick didn't bother answering, and grabbed the chip on the back of the mare's neck. With a tug, it slipped out, leaving three holes where the now bloody prongs on the underside had been. The pony twitched and moved around, but stayed unconscious. He took the pronged chip and placed it in his pocket, considering what he might be able to do with it.

"What have you done?"

"Freed her. Better to be a cripple than a drone."

"Cripple? You've crippled her?"

"Maybe… I wasn't told where these attached to. It might have been directly attached to the nerves, but… that would be impractical, wouldn't it? Can't remove the chip later on if it's directly attached… Maybe, it might have been… No, that wouldn't work… These prongs, they're conductive. That means that it used electric stimulation, right? Probably… That actually makes the most sense… In that case, she should be fine… Maybe…"

"You're making guesses when someone's life could have been destroyed by you?"

"I'm making an effort to break down what we know into information we can use. She'll be fine, and if she ends up being crippled, we'll use some foam on her and she'll be right back up."

Rick turned away from the guard and began walking down the street, towards the diner. Several ponies he simply ignored came to his side as he walked, asking him questions he hadn't even listened to. They quickly left him as got closer, to his enjoyment. Finally there, he slowly walked into the diner and sat at a booth, exhausted. Lying back, he contemplated his current situation and what to do at this point.

"Sir? What exactly happened to you?"

Rick turned to Fine Dining, surprised that he was still working. Rick chuckled, settling into the booth's seat.

"My old friend happened, that's what. The ass did a number on this simply _beautiful_ face of mine."

Rick began laughing, shaking his head. Fine Dining stared back nervously, not sure how to approach the situation.

"Sir, how can you call a person your friend if they did _that_ to you?"

Rick touched his finger to his chin, "I don't know, but I really don't feel like going into it. Could you just get me a small slice of blueberry pie and some water? Having this," he hit the bars on his chest, "hasn't slowed my appetite one bit."

Fine Dining cringed at the site of Rick's abdomen, but still kept a smile.

"Right away, sir!"

"Thanks."

Rick rested his head on the table and looked out the window at the scene of disarray in front of the diner. The fires died down, and more ponies came to the scene to investigate the horrible explosion that must have woken up most, if not all of the neighborhood. He saw the two Princesses walking around, with a group of guards moving with them as a cohesive unit. Trailing behind were those six from earlier. Rick couldn't place their names once again, but still watched as they searched the scene.

Rick figured they must have been looking for him, but he didn't feel like greeting them just yet. He would have his pie first, and he believed he deserved it due to what he just endured. Rick wanted some peace to finally enjoy himself, and his mood perked up slightly when he heard the clatter of a dish land next to him. He lifted his head and smiled at Fine Dining.

"Thanks, and tell the same to Cloche. But tell her I left, I don't really want to be seen in my current state."

"You got it sir."

Rick looked back at his slice of pie and smiled. He grabbed his fork and stuck it in, grabbing a piece and pulling it to his mouth. He heard the door open up, but didn't tense up this time. Despite the pain, he was relatively calm and relaxed, which seemed odd to him. Taking the bite, he relaxed as the delicious taste soothed him slightly.

"Rick! What happened!"

Rick took a few more extra seconds than necessary to taste his food, but swallowed and turned to whoever was talking to him. Looking at Twilight something, Rick kept an oblivious face and demeanor as he spoke.

"Huh?"

"Oh, what did he do to you? You look horrible!"

"Thanks for the compliment."

"I'm sorry, but it's just that you look so hurt!"

"I'm in pain, and I'm missing a few things, but I should be fine. By the way, have you seen my eye? I think I misplaced it."

She paled as she saw Rick's lack of an eye, "You lost your eye! How did you lose an eye?"

"Tobias took it I think… Said something about a mark. I really feel tired right now, and I can't think straight…"

"A mark?" She got closer and looked at Rick's right eye, examining the pupil.

"Wow, what is that? I can't really tell."

"What's it look like?"

"It's your pupil, but it has weird tick marks going around it on the inside. I can't explain it that well, but maybe I can find you a mirror to check for yourself. Hold on, I'll get the others!"

Rick groaned, then turned back to eating his pie as she left him. She turned back, not sure what she'd done.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm so out of it right now. I feel like someone melted half my brain or something. Honestly, if I owned a store and my sanity was the main product, I would have just had a firesale. I doubt I'll be able to make rational decisions for a bit. You know, I haven't been making many rational decisions in a while... I wonder why."

"I'm sure we can find you a psychiatrist to help you out."

"I doubt anyone in this place knows how the human mind works." He sighed, "Look, just go and let me relax a bit, I'm tired, I'm bleeding, and I look like I've survived a trainwreck three times over. That and I think I'm hearing voices again, but it could just be those guys outside trying to figure out what happened."

"What _did_ happen?"

"I met an old friend, got torture by him, let him run off into the night. Probably a bad idea, but I could honestly care less right now, all I want is to sit out for a bit."

"I'll go bring some help, stay right here!"

"I'm not going anywhere."

Rick slumped in his seat discontently, wondering how exactly he'd gotten himself in such a situation. He considered how well the medical foam would piece together his missing body parts and sighed again. Thinking about how hard it would be to get back to the forest's castle took his mind slightly off the pain as he willingly sat and slowly bled out. His mind wandered back to the ponies and he dropped his head to the table again.

"Damn ponies with all their damn friends, all wanting to _make_ damn friends, damn't."

Grumbling, he began drinking some water to wash down the pie. Suddenly, light erupted in the room as he gave no attention and instead focused on eating. Something walked over to him as he sat, and decided to sit across from him.

"I'm sorry I couldn't help, but I had to assist your Earth friends."

"It's fine."

"Do you want to stay here, or do you want to leave and enjoy each other's company?"

Rick smiled, "Let's leave this place. But can we make a stop first?"

"Where to?"

"The castle here so I can grab the box you gave to me, then the one in the forest."

"As you wish. Oh, and I think the battle scars bring out your features quite well."

Rick began laughing, "Wow, no one's ever said that about my cuts."

"The word 'cuts' is an under-exaggeration, don't you think?"

"I've had worse, but he sure did get creative. Really, replacing regular stitching with metal bars, impressive isn't it?"

"Quite. Are you ready?"

"Yeah, just let me get one last bi- Hmm, why don't you try some of this?"

"Pie?"

"Blueberry pie."

"But it seems so- so- so _common!_"

"Just try it. I love the shit outta this thing."

"Well, if you insist…"

Rick grabbed the fork and plucked a piece of pie. He lightly chuckled as he placed the piece in Nightmare Moon's mouth. She gave it a taste and then swallowed approvingly. She hadn't noticed, but she was licking her lips, despite the manners she enforced on herself.

"Delicious…"

"Yeah… Now, let's head out." Rick got up, but stopped. "How exactly are we going to get there?"

"Teleportation, of course. It _is_ the quickest way to travel."

"I always thought displacing would be, but… I'm sure teleporting is fine too."

"Then let us leave to the Castle."

"Let's."

Nightmare Moon got up and her horn lit up from the spell. Rick was blinded by the light that consumed them both. Within a few moments, both were gone, leaving only the half eaten pie and some water as the only evidence of their stay.

Twilight Sparkle, her friends, and both of the Princesses saw the light and quickly went into the diner. She looked around, wondering where Rick was.

"He was right here! Where did he go?"

The sky blue Pegasus crossed her forearms, "Are you sure you saw him in here?"

"Dash, he's the only one of his kind on this planet and he even left some blood leading here, of course I'm sure!"

"Well geez, no need to get snappy!"

Celestia looked around and walked over to the booth Rick sat in. She examined the pie and tasted it.

"Blueberry?"

Luna's head shot up, "He had to have been here! He was going on about how he loved the blueberry pie here!"

"You two ate here?"

Luna smiled sheepishly, "Yes, under recommendation of a friend. He said he wanted to see the city at night, so I thought a diner was the best place to experience the city and have some nice home cooked food."

Applejack stepped into the conversation, "But here's the problem ya'll, he ain't here!"

Rainbow Dash flew up a few feet and looked around, "Yeah, where did he go?"

"Are you looking for Rick?"

They all turned to look at a colt who obviously hadn't had much sleep as of late.

Twilight instantly recognized him, "Fine Dining! Did you see where he went?"

"Oh yeah, he left with someone a few minutes ago. Teleported right outta here."

Princess Celestia walked forward as Fine Dining's eyes widened in shock.

"P-Princess! What a surprise! What can I get you tonight?"

"Please, tell us where he went."

"I don't really know. All I know is that he left with that pretty looking mare not too long ago. She lit up this whole place like a light bulb!"

"A mare? What did she look like?"

Fine Dining scratched at his chin, "Well, about your size, a black colored coat, a very odd looking mane, and what looked like some kind of armor on."

Celestia quickly came to the realization of who Rick left with. "Nightmare Moon!"

Fine Dining shrunk, "That was _the_ Nightmare Moon? She could have killed me!"

Luna frowned, "But where did they go?"

"I don't know Ma'am, I only saw Rick order some pie and leave a little later with her. He seemed pretty banged up from something."

Twilight shook her head, "We need to get him to a hospital! We can't just let him roam around in his current state! And who knows what Nightmare Moon will do to him!"

Fine Dining looked at Twilight with slight apprehensiveness, "I don't really think he has much to worry about Twilight. They seemed awfully comfortable around each other."

Luna frowned again, "How?"

"Well, for starters, he didn't even flinch when she teleported in. I was practically having a panic attack while he just sat there eating that pie! Then he fed her a piece of the blueberry pie, which seemed a bit odd to me."

Luna's expression fell, "He fed her pie?"

"Yes Ma'am."

"Well… we must find him soon, and before he gets hurt even more!"

Celestia furrowed her brow, "Yes, I have the feeling the longer he's left in his current condition, the more of a liability he will become."

Twilight looked around at her friends and then back at the Princesses, "Well, we'll need to hurry! We probably won't have much time until something happens. I just hope when we do find him, we won't be too late."

* * *

><p>"Yo Trixie, I'm home!"<p>

"Rick?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"Where have you been? We thought they may have been torturing you!"

"It wasn't exactly torture, at least, not in the regular sense. I'll tell you, there's only so much of that 'friendship' and 'love' crap they try to push that a man can take. What's wrong?"

"Slowly come here, Rick. She's right behind you," Trixie whispered.

Trixie lit up her horn, ready to attack Nightmare Moon. Nightmare Moon simply smiled, completely unworried by whatever this pony could possibly do. Rick, intervening, got in the way of Trixie's view.

"What are you doing? This could be our only chance of defending ourselves!"

"No need to. Me and her were going to go and chill together for a bit, I just wanted to drop by and tell you guys I'm alright. Speaking of which, where's Tyrone?"

"Out hunting for some food."

"Mah boy! You made me proud! Tell him that once he gets back."

"Wait, where are you two going?"

"Not sure yet, maybe somewhere where we can see the stars."

"Please come back soon Rick, it's been getting boring without you around."

"Of course, this is my home after all. Hmm, I almost forgot. Just let me take care of this box and we'll be outta here."

Rick walked into the shuttle, while Nightmare Moon got closer to Trixie.

"I've heard of you, you were that one who said she could defeat an Ursa Major, correct?"

Trixie laughed nervously, "Oh, that… A little lie never hurt anyone."

"I could teach you how to use more powerful types of magic. Magic to maybe conjure an Ursa Major and then defeat it?"

"That's so underhanded! I like it…"

Nightmare Moon laughed, "Yes, well it will help your reputation when it's a Major and not a Minor. That Twilight Sparkle defeated a baby. In some sense, that's almost pathetic."

"Twilight is into child abuse… That would be fun to spread around."

"Do as you wish with what you know, I'll just provide the help when you need it."

"I appreciate that. You know, Rick, Tyrone and you have been the only ones to offer to help me in a long time."

"That's because he sees something in you he can relate to himself."

"What do we have in common?"

"He thinks it's an uncanny ability to survive situations that one shouldn't. He probably thought that when he found you being attacked by that Manticore."

Trixie frowned, "Yes, I remember that day. Was it only a few weeks ago?"

"I'm afraid so. I must admit, it was very clever converting your magic into a usable energy for his body. It over-catalyzed his body and forced it to work quicker than it was meant to."

"That's what worried me. Is there any long term effects to that?"

"I wouldn't know; I've only known him and his kind for a little longer than you have."

"I'm sure it's nothing… So, what do you two plan on doing tonight? Going on a date?" Trixie smirked.

"Well, I can't say for sure, and I'm not sure if he sees it that way, but…"

"But?"

"He's a very interesting creature isn't he? I wonder how…"

"You're not thinking what I think you're thinking right?"

Nightmare Moon smiled, "Depends on what you think I'm thinking."

"I didn't think you of all people would be like that! That's a tad naughty, don't you think?"

Nightmare Moon got close to Trixie's face, "Oh, I can be a very naughty little foal."

Trixie blushed and backed up, "Ye-Yes, I'm sure you can." She concentrated in thought for a moment, "But how would that even work? He's from a completely different taxonomical order!"

"You know about taxonomy?"

"I know, it's weird for a magician to be into that, but it seems interesting."

"You're right though, that presents a problem…" Nightmare Moon's eyes brightened as an idea came into her head. "And I believe I have the answer."

"What's that?"

"Transformative magic, my dear."

"But that requires a powerful spell caster."

"And who do you think you're talking to? _The_ most powerful spell caster."

"I could never really use transformative magic right, every time I tried I'd end up creating something that would only stay in that state for a few minutes."

"There are two types: temporary, where something is turned into something else for a set amount of time; and semi-permanent, where it stays in the form until it decides to change back. I plan on using the semi-permanent."

Trixie smiled, "Oh I can't imagine how Rick would react to seeing another human! Tell me what happened when you two get back."

Rick stuck his head out of the shuttle door, "Hey! What are you guys going on about?"

They both looked at Rick innocently, "Nothing."

Rick raised a brow, but shrugged it off. "Hey, look what I found in the box." Rick came out of the shuttle swinging a machete wildly in the air. Making incoherent speech, he completed the act of being a madman with no regard for anything in his way. They stared at him wide-eyed as he suddenly stopped and began laughing. Putting his palm to his face, he began muttering something while still laughing.

"Oh man, if only Billy was here to see that…"

Trixie walked over to Rick and looked at the weapon, "What is that?"

"Oh this? It's a machete I stole off the body of a Nepalese army officer. I used it waaaay back, but I gave it to Aden and told him to get rid of it for me. I didn't expect him to keep it though, which is actually a good thing because now I can use it to clear some of the foliage around here."

"So it's a weapon?"

"Weapon, tool, call it what you want. It's multipurpose, its sharp, and it can kick ass. That's about all there is to it."

Rick walked back into the shuttle and placed the machete down on a table.

"Rick, what else did you find in there?"

"Let's see… Tyrone's old PDA, should come in handy for some music or something. What the hell? Blueprints for a suit. Why the hell would he give me these?" He tossed the stack of papers over his shoulder and onto another table, "Not that I need them, I already got the best one. Forget it; I'll look through this some more later."

He came out of the shuttle and walked back to the two mares staring at him.

"What?"

Trixie looked Rick over and cringed, "I didn't want to say this earlier, but what happened to you?"

"I was tortured and had needless surgery performed on me. Speaking of which, I better get some foam."

Rick walked back into the shuttle and grabbed a can of bio-medical foam and a syringe. He took it and pulled out some foam with the syringe, giving it its trademark glow. Rick pressed some onto his face and rubbed it in where the flesh was missing. Within a few moments, the skin and muscle tissue that had been torn off had been replaced as if nothing happened. Rick opened his eyelids and injected foam into the eye socket. He pulled out the syringe and let the foam settle for a minute before opening his eye lids to reveal a fresh new eye.

He took some foam and spread it on his cuts and lesions that lay across his body. He looked at his abdomen and grimaced.

"This is going to hurt. I mean hurt _real_ bad."

He grabbed at a bar and yanked it out quickly. Blood ran down from the hole and all the following holes he made as he pulled them out one by one. Wincing, he grabbed the bottom bar and ripped it off, along with some skin.

"Ow, shit!"

He grabbed the upper one and ripped it off too, forcing him to bite down on his lip. Nightmare Moon and Trixie simply stared at Rick's self-surgery with mixed feelings. He quickly spread foam over the large hole in his abdomen and the patches of skin he removed. When they finally settled and gave Rick back his original anatomy, he sighed and put the can back into the shuttle. He grabbed his spare shirt and came out again, ready to depart.

He smiled, "Self-medication is best medication." He gave a thumbs-up.

"Is that stuff that you use to fix the holes in yourself safe?"

Rick's smile soon became a frown, "For you, because I used it once on you, no. But repeated use on humans has led to neural damage, psychological imbalance, schizophrenia, various forms of cancers dependant on the administered area, bipolarism, and a lot of psychological diseases. All in all, I really shouldn't be using it as often as I do. I'm probably going to end up dieing within a decade if I keep this up."

"Then why would you use it?"

"It's quick, it's effective, and I can get medical treatment for most of those things. I didn't really consider this, but neural and psychological damage is probably what's hitting me right now, because I feel real weird right now. The voices are gone, but now I feel different. More open, you know?"

"I just hope you'll be able to treat whatever comes up."

"Trust me, it's amazing what doctors can do to you to fix you back up on Earth."

Rick looked around and focused back on Nightmare Moon.

Nightmare Moon looked him over and got closer, "I take it you're ready?"

"Yeah, I'm good. You want something to eat by the way? According to Trixie, the MRE's are pretty damn good."

"MRE's?"

"Meals Ready to Eat. Rations, but better."

Trixie nodded, "They are pretty good, and I have to admit, Rick's food is filling."

"That's what they're made for. So, do you guys want any?"

Trixie shook her head, "I ate a little while ago."

Nightmare Moon, with her interest piqued, spoke, "What exactly is it?"

"Aden, that ass, gave me only vegetarian MRE's. Pretty much, it's random vegetables cooked or steamed, with different condiments that you can put on yourself."

"It sounds like an interesting concept, but I'm not very hungry right now. Maybe we could come back later and have some breakfast?"

"Sounds like a plan. Let's dip."

"What?"

"Leave. Let's leave."

She chuckled, "Such an interesting vocabulary."

"Actually, just let me get a minute with Trixie, okay?"

"As you wish, I'm in no hurry."

Rick pulled Trixie away and kneeled down next to her.

"Trixie, what's up with your people?"

"What are you talking about?"

"The ponies, they're too forgiving for no goddamn reason. It doesn't add up. They're definitely working at something, but what? Shit, I really wish I could figure this one out," Rick said while looking around nervously.

Trixie stared back at Rick oddly, "I think you're looking too deeply into this."

Rick bit his finger and turned back to Trixie, "Trust me, I've been around long enough to know when someone's working an angle. Maybe they have Luna working for them too! I wouldn't be surprised if all that happened was some act or a trick or something. They're all just trying to calm me down and get me to relax long enough to pull the wool over my eyes and ice me!"

Trixie, not sure what Rick was going on about, stared back confusedly, "Ice you? What are you talking about? And what happened when you were over there?"

"They went easy on me, and that doesn't make sense. They should have executed me, jailed me, done something to stop me!" He looked deeply at Trixie, "I think I'm losing my mind."

"I'll say, you're not making any sense. Why would you think they wouldn't just be nice to you?"

"Because no one is just 'nice', unless they want something from you. Basic rules."

"Calm down Rick, ponies in Equestria tend to be forgiving and kind. It would make sense if they felt that way towards you."

"No, it wouldn't. I'll get the answers from them later... But for now, I'm just going to enjoy myself. Fuck everything else."

Rick walked away from a confused Trixie and to Nightmare Moon. He nodded to her and she cast the spell, covering the room in a bright light.

"Too nice? How were they _too nice?_"

Alone now, she sat back down by the fire pit, ready to sleep. Before she was able to relax however, she heard some faint sound coming from somewhere in the room. She got up and looked around from her position on the floor, yet found nothing. Sighing, she lazily got up and moved around the room to try and detect the odd, garbled sounds. She was just about to give up when she passed the shuttle, picking up a more louder sound now. It was the same as before, but now it was louder and less jumbled together. She headed into the shuttle and looked around for what may be making the noise.

Trixie moved close to the box Rick brought in and opened it, not sure if he would mind. The sound was now clearly being heard by Trixie from somewhere in the box. She pulled out an odd device and inspected. Coming to no conclusion on what it might be, she was about to put it down when it began speaking. She dropped it on the table, afraid at the amazing piece of technology from another planet.

_"He's compromised the secure channels!"_

_"Switch to non-secure and chase after him, NOW!"_

_"Sir, we're trying our best to get to him!"_

_"I will not tolerate failure to capture him! It's either him or you!"_

_"Yes Sir!"_

There were no voices for a few moments as Trixie heard various sounds ranging from panting to what sounded like someone running down hallways.

_"Sir, we've found him! He has Melendez as a human shield!"_

_"Forget him, take the shot, NOW!"_

_"I can't do that Sir, he has Melendez in a corner!"_

_"I don't care, do what you have to! Fire at his head, fire through Melendez, just BRING. HIM. DOWN!"_

Screaming could be heard as a bang went off, scaring Trixie.

_"AGH! HE USED A FLASHBANG!"_

_"You fools! Get him before he escapes! Bring me Aden Von Kerzen, dead or alive!"_

_"We can't see Sir!"_

_"Then start firing randomly until you hit something!"_

The noise died down as men could be heard groaning in pain.

_"He got away sir. He pushed Melendez away and got into one of the pods. He's probably headed back to Earth now."_

_"No, he isn't. You idiots let him get away and now what? Now besides Vali, we have another problem! What the hell are we going to do now?"_

_"We're sorry Sir, but he was a TTG Agent. We aren't trained to deal with those kinds of guys."_

_"Enough of this! Report to the barracks immediately, all of you! As for you Sergeant, I'd like to see you _personally_. Mission over, get off the lines."_

A buzzing sound was all that was left of the conversation that left Trixie speechless and confused. She put the item back into the box, closed it, and sat back down by the fire pit. Shaking her head, she wondered what all of that was about.

"Who were those ponies? What were they yelling about? I hope this doesn't come to bite us someday..."

* * *

><p>"Has anyone seen him?"<p>

"No! His stuff's gone too!"

"He must have come back with her to get it."

"Where could they have gone together?"

"This doesn't add up; _why_ would he go with her? She's _evil!_"

"He must have had a reason. Maybe he was kidnapped?"

"Fine Dining said he went willingly."

"He could have been threatened!"

"He wouldn't have fed her pie if he was feeling threatened by her."

"What's the big deal about this pie?"

"I dunno, he likes it a lot apparently."

"This is getting us nowhere, and we can't find him. Maybe we should just give up."

"He probably will come back eventually."

"Let's hope he doesn't come back trying to burn down Canterlot!"

"Dash! Don't say something like that! I don't think he would do something like _that._"

"You never know! He might be plotting with Nightmare Moon right now!"

"I hope not, both of them are pretty powerful in the right environment."

"Listen, let's just look around for a little bit longer, and then we'll call it a night."

"Fine, let's go."

* * *

><p>"Wow."<p>

"Do you like it?"

"This place is real nice. Beautiful. They say the darkest women enjoy the darkest nights. I take it that that's true."

"I prefer to keep myself surrounded by the night and the stars."

"Me too… I mean, Just look at this place! It's amazing! How did you find it?"

"It was built long ago, before even the Everfree Castle. I simply renovated it and gave it back its life."

"And alive it is. I gotta admit, I never would have expected someone to live on top of a mountain and in an observatory."

"What better place to study the stars when in bed?"

"In bed?"

Rick looked over to the center of the room and saw a large, dark blue bed right under where the observatory's top opened up. He smirked and walked over to it.

"Nice bed."

"Why don't you try it out?"

She gently pushed Rick onto the bed, sitting him down. He looked up for a moment and saw a very odd looking shooting star pass the sky. It didn't seem like anyone he'd ever seen, but he instead focused on the situation at hand. He looked at Nightmare Moon and snickered, but kept a straight face as she closed in. She lowered her head and stuck her horn under his shirt, cutting it upwards and open.

'Damn't! There goes _another_ shirt! Where the hell am I going to get another one now? Still sexy though.'

"Very interesting body structure. Are all humans like this?"

"I'm one in a million."

She smiled and got close to Rick's face.

"So am I."

She leaned in, but was met by nothing when Rick backed his head up.

"Sorry… I really can't do this. Hell, I'd go to jail for something like this…"

She smirked, "I thought you would feel uncomfortable, so I found a spell that'll help get rid of the barriers.

"A spell?" Rick thought it over in his head for a moment, "Wait! You're not going to turn me into a pony, are you? Because for whatever reason right, I have the feeling that it would be slightly cliche."

She laughed, "Of course not! Just watch and see…"

She lit up her horn and was engulfed in a bright light. Rick, blinded, squinted to make out the figure in front of him.

"What the hell…"

A moment later, Nightmare Moon stood before him.

"Oh. Wow."

"I take it you like my new form?"

"I don't have a word for how much I like it."

She snickered, "Well, what do you think?"

Rick shot up, catching her off guard.

"I mean, like wow, you look _fiiiiiinnnnnneee!_"

Rick looked her over more than approvingly. She stood in front of him, mostly naked except for a few pieces of armor still left over from being a mare. Her long, jet black hair still glimmered as if the stars were still there and it fell over her in a way the drove Rick off the deep end.

He began stuttering, "I-I- Oh god, I'm seriously tripping right now. If I hadn't lost my mind already, I probably just did."

He got up and pointed to her breasts with both hands, "I mean those tits!" He moved behind her and bit down on his bottom lip, "AND THAT ASS!" He groaned loudly and put both hands to his face in an effort to calm himself down.

She laughed, "I take it you like it."

"Woman, you know how to drive a man insane! I just can't believe this is happening right now!"

"Why's that?"

"Because an extremely sexy woman barely wearing anything is standing right in front of me, trying to seduce me even though she didn't even need to try."

"Well, how about I continue then?"

"Oh please do."

She chuckled and unbuttoned Rick's shorts. She looked up at him slyly as she slowly pulled down the zipper, forcing Rick bite down harder on his lip.

"You're such a tease! I like that!"

She laughed again, and leaned in close for a kiss. This time, she was actually met by Rick's lips. She was caught off guard and backed away, despite being aroused.

"What was that?"

"One of the few good things the French actually contributed to humanity. Like it?"

"It's… different."

"You'll get used to it."

"I believe I already did."

She leaned in again as Rick took her face into his hands. They broke the kiss a few moments later.

She looked at him incredulously, "I- I have to admit, I didn't expect it to feel like _that!_"

He chuckled, "You have your tricks, and I have mine."

She smirked back, pushed Rick back onto the bed, straddled him, and leaned in close, "Well, let me just show you how good my tricks can be…"

* * *

><p>"And he still hasn't come back yet!"<p>

"Aunt Trixie, I'm sure he's fine. We should let him enjoy himself. He seems to not be able to most of his time here in Equestria."

Trixie smiled knowingly, "Oh, I think he's definitely enjoying himself right now, that's for sure." She laughed, but grew serious again. "Still, it's been three weeks! What could they have been doing for three weeks?"

"He'll be back soon, I'm sure of it. We just need to be patient."

"You're too trusting Tyrone, but I like that about you. Yeah, he'll be back eventually. I guess we're just going to have to wait for now. Well, would you like some veggies?"

"Yes, please, all of this hunting has made me simply _famished!_"

"You've been getting better, too! Rick was right when he said he was proud, and you should be too! How many can call themselves as good as you? Admittedly, I was never very keen on killing other animals for sustenance, but you can't change your biological needs I suppose."

"Thank you for understanding."

"Right, now let's dig into this food!"

* * *

><p>Where the hell did I just take this chapter. Let's see, Rick's been tortured in a totally unkinky way, he's had rebars put into his stomach, an eye plucked out, lost his mind, stabbed, sliced, and punched twice. And his reward for surviving the encounter with Tobias? A piece of pie and some water. Excellent, right? Anyway, I'm not sure how people will feel about this one, but I sorta enjoyed writing this one. Rick ended up being taken back to Nightmare Moon's bachelorette pad where stuff got funky and shit. What'll happen? Probably a very interesting three weeks. It may all sound like a bunch of random bullshit happening, but when I thought the plot out to Stasis, it involved a relationship with a villain, which would give foresight into future events. I think this is the turning point on whether I'd go with that or another plot, but I can't turn down this one because I know I can work it a certain way after this chapter. This is my first fic, and I expected to be experimental on where it went, and now is probably the best time to do so. All in all, even if I end up messing up the plot and making it look like shit, I'm going to continue working on it to see where it ends up.<p>

I don't what else to say at this point, but if you're up to it, head to my profile and vote in the poll regarding Stasis. I'm rooting for people voting "3", but I'd like to see how people will think Rick will ultimately turn out as a pioneering human in Equestria. Another thing, it might not be considered a good idea to write most of your chapter when you're half asleep and not focusing at your highest capacity, because that's how these last chapters have been cranking out. Doing that will probably end up hurting the plot, but I hope that ultimately, I'll be able to finish Stasis in the next few chapters and in a good note.

The scene with Trixie and the radio was interesting to write. That, along with what Rick saw in the sky, is what's going to make up those three weeks he was gone. The three weeks won't be based on Rick, but focused on someone else. It should be obvious who that is, but I think it's going to make for a pretty nice part of the plot.

Also, Face/Off and Call of Pripyat references are the new "cool" thing.

Well, seeing as though there's nothing else to write, I'll finish up with one thing.

Stay Trilla.


	14. Chapter 14

**Stasis**

**Chapter 14: Clarity**

**By: Stillmatic**

* * *

><p>Sunset was hitting Ponyville as most of the ponies, save for a few who worked night shifts, were going into their homes to call it a day and rest. A specific six, however, were still out, discussing recent events in the town square. Over the course of the last few weeks, things seemed to have died down since the appearance of a creature willing to fight against guards and the Princesses themselves. Nonetheless, speculation of what it was, where it came from, and just about anything about it was still a common topic.<p>

"Oh, it was amazing! The chick hatched so quickly!"

"That's great Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash said in a bored tone. "How about we talk about how I did that trick earlier instead? Now that was awesome!"

"Rainbow Dash, let her finish her story, she w_as_ first."

"Oh, that's fine Rarity, I was already done."

Dash grinned, "As I was saying, I did this one trick where I-"

"Dash?" Twilight interrupted.

"Yeah?"

"You see Ditzy Doo around a lot, right?"

"You think just because we're both Pegasi that we see each other a lot?" Dash huffed.

"No, but you must run into her in the sky from time to time."

"That's true… What about her?" Dash asked curiously, completely forgetting her discussion on her past feats.

"Well, it's just that my part of town didn't get any of their mail today, and no one's seen her. I was just wondering if you'd seen her in the sky or something."

Dash rubbed her chin in thought, "Now that you mention it, I didn't see her at all, and I always see her on my rounds at least once."

Twilight pondered the disappearance for a moment, but dismissed it, "I suppose she's just sick and the other mailmares haven't gotten around to compensating for her absence."

Pinkie Pie emerged from some bushes not very far from where the others were standing, "But Twilight, doesn't your mail come from Spike?"

"Not all of my mail Pinkie, just letters from the Princesses."

"Well, I'm sure it's nothing to worry 'bout. Somepony'll just bring it by tomorrow, Sugarcube."

"My, I hope she's alright." Rarity thought about that for a moment, "She probably looks awful! The poor thing!"

"Rarity, don't you thin-" Twilight began.

"Twilight?"

"Yes Pinkie?"

"What's that thing over there?"

Twilight and Pinkie Pie both began looking behind themselves and towards the entrance of Ponyville. In the distance, an object moving closer to them could be made out. Due to the light slowly leaving to make way for the night, it was hard to make out just what it was. The most notable feature was the red colors on the lower part, but the grey at the top.

Rarity cringed at the clashing colors, "Yes, what _is_ that?"

Twilight squinted to try and tell what it was, but still couldn't make it out, "I don't know, but it's coming this way. It sure is slow."

Dash scoffed, "Compared to me, everything's slow."

Twilight ignored the bragging and focused on the object. At first, she couldn't tell its structure very well, but after a few moments of it getting closer, she noticed a few distinctive features like how it seemed to walk on two legs, was fairly tall, and practically dragged itself along the dirt road.

"Uhh, guys, I think I know what that is."

Pinkie Pie popped out from behind a nearby bench, "Maybe it's a new pony!"

Twilight shook her head, "That's not a pony. I just hope it isn't who I think it is."

Applejack caught on, "Wait, you think that it's that one feller?"

Rainbow Dash was caught by surprise by something touching her from behind. She turned around to see Fluttershy huddled behind her.

"Uhh, Fluttershy, you're not scared are you?"

Becoming slightly smaller, Fluttershy responded, "M-maybe a-a little."

"Why? I mean," Rainbow Dash flexed out her wings as she posed heroically, "you have me here. So no one is going to mess with you, and if they do, they'll have to deal with me!"

Rarity walked closer, "Darling, I'm sure there's nothing at all to be afraid of."

"Guys, it's getting closer!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, completely oblivious to the idea of watching in relatively low volume.

The object, which turned out to be the creature from earlier, walked through the entrance and over to the square. It paid no attention to the six ponies watching it, but it seemed to take notice when they gasped at what it held above its shoulders.

Applejack narrowed her eyes in disbelief, "Is that-"

"Yeah! What's he doing with her?" Rainbow Dash said as she took an offensive stance.

On the shoulders of the creature was none other than the missing Ditzy Doo. She appeared to be out cold and hung lifelessly. The creature walked past the six and placed her on the nearby bench. They each took a look at the creature to see that it had several large bite marks on different parts of it, along with a mix of wet and dry blood. It sat and slumped on the bench with its head back as it exhaled tiredly.

Without looking at the ponies, it pointed to the grayish one next to it, "I believe that package is yours. You probably should have paid for the handling too."

Rainbow Dash flew up in front of him, "What did you do to her?"

He waved his hand, "Calm down, she'd be dead if it weren't for me." He smiled, "I was walking down a road and she flew straight into a tree not far from me. I just kept walking, because I figured this must be a normal occurrence around here, but then this dog thing came up looking for something to eat." He put his hands together and flipped them so they looked like large teeth. He began opening them and closing them as if they were eating something, "It came up to her when she was knocked out and was like 'Chomp, chomp, chomp! Someone gimme some shit to eat right now! Oh is that a pony right there? Daaayyuuumm, free meal!' And I was like, 'Shit, I have to do something right?' So I went over there and grabbed the pony before he got to her and ran my ass out of there."

He used a single hand to form the dog's mouth now, with the other using the index and middle finger to represent him running. "But that thing was quick! It knocked me down after only a few yards. So I put the pony down and fought the thing. Did I mention it had three heads? I thought it was a mutant or something, but let me tell you, that motherfucker can bite! Hard! So he knocks me down and takes a few good bites in, I kick his nose and he gets back for a few seconds."

He pointed down at his bare feet, "So I threw a shoe to distract him, and it actually worked. I picked her up and tried getting out of there, but he ruined the shoe so quick, he was already on me again. This is where things got interesting. I took my other shoe and threw it, but this time, I dropped the pony and jumped onto the back of dog thing. Man, was it mad when I did that. But here's the funny thing, when I grabbed the head of one neck, and snapped it, the other two heads just dropped along with the entire body. Turns out snapping one kills the whole thing. I wasn't sure at that point if I knocked it out or not, but I didn't bother taking the chance, so I grabbed this gal and walked over here. I think it's been 3 hours since then, maybe? Well, that's about it, I guess I'm outta here."

He got up and began slowly walking away towards the Everfree Forest. As he was passing some buildings, he felt a tingly feeling on his right arm as it stopped in place, pulling him back. He looked at his arm and found that it was glowing an odd purple glow.

"My arm is so irradiated it has a mind of its own. And it glows purple. What kind of world do we live in where things like this happen?"

He tried walking forward again, only for his arm to not follow and force him back. He turned his head to see that Twilight Sparkle's horn was glowing along with his arm. They saw he had put two and two together, and a small frown crossed his face.

"Really? I save one of you and you try to stop me? Is that how you repay me?"

Twilight walked closer, "After what you've done, this is going easy on you."

Rick smiled, "Yeah, being an escaped convict was fun while it lasted, but I think three weeks is more than enough time for my wanted level to go down. Oh wait… That doesn't make sense does it? I whole heartedly think it doesn't matter anymore, because at this point, I've given up trying to expl-" He stopped and looked around for a moment. Turning his head quickly in every direction, he scanned the area for something none of the ponies could see.

"Well, this is an interesting turn of events. You might want to let me go now."

Twilight looked at him as if he just asked a stupid question, "Why would we let you go? The Princess probably has a lot of questions for you."

Rick laughed, "Ok, first off, I couldn't care less about what your 'Princess' wants. Second, if you're okay with being between me and a storm of bullets, that's fine with me. But I don't think you know how to handle being shot, do you?"

Reluctantly, Twilight let go of her magical grip on Rick's arm. He began looking around again and slowly walked over to a bush. With all eyes on him, as oddly interested as they were in what exactly he was doing, he kneeled down in the bush, effectively making himself hidden.

Pinkie Pie gasped, "He stole my idea!"

Rainbow Dash gave her a look, "What are you talking about?"

A voice came from the bush, "Shut up, I'm trying to listen."

While everyone remained quiet, a light buzzing could be heard coming from somewhere. It was barely noticeable at first, but it soon became louder and more pronounced. No pony noticed the object hovering in the air at first, but when some ponies began noticing it, more became interested in what it was. It was grey for the most part, used what looked like small, fast blades to keep it up in the air, and a large piece of black metal underneath looked vaguely similar in structure to the weapon Rick used on Rainbow Dash weeks ago.

It flew over the ponies and began turning the black piece of metal as if it were its eye. When it saw nothing of interest, it hovered lower to get a better look. Twilight kept her eye on the bush, and her lack of trust for the creature was rewarded when a hand slowly came up from the bush and let out what looked like an electrical current towards floating machine. Before it could notice the current however, it was quickly brought down and promptly exploded into small, unrecognizable pieces.

Rick got up from inside the bush and went over to the debris, using his index finger to forage through it for anything worth taking.

"Not a UAV, a drone. Let's see, underside rifle, probably hunting for me seeing as though it didn't even give you guys a second look. Probably self-detonated when it lost contact because of the run-through. Smart, because it left nothing behind that anyone can use at all. Except this, of course, but I won't have it in my possession for long." They saw him pocket something as he got up and began walking away. In only a few seconds of walking, he stopped and leaned against a building, panting.

"I think the blood loss is catching up to me and pretty quick too. I am going to need some stuff to keep me alive long enough to get the hell out of here," he turned around and saw that his conversation with himself was being listened on, "fast."

Applejack stared at him for a moment, "There is a clinic in town, ya' know."

Rick gave a devious grin, "Really, now? And where might it be?"

Twilight glared at him, "We're not going to tell you until you agree to come with us back to Canterlot."

Rick shrugged and pointed to Rainbow Dash, "I guess you're just too _smart_ to tell me, right? You seem smarter though."

Rainbow Dash backed up slightly from the compliment, "I- I do?"

"Of course, but the rest of your friends are far too narrow-minded to see that. Why don't you prove them wrong and tell me where this clinic is?"

Dash caught on quickly to his scheme, "No way, I'm not going to sell them out like that!"

Rick's smile faded, "Oh, I guess you're just stupid then."

"Am not!"

"Yeah, you are."

"Am not!"

"I can continue this for as long as I need to, but that doesn't change the fact that you're pretty damn stupid."

"If I was stupid, would I know that that building with the red cross on it is the clinic?"

Rick scratched his head in bewilderment for a second, "How the hell didn't I notice that? Well, thanks for that Stupid."

"Wait wha-"

Rick walked off quickly to the building as Dash got glares from the rest of the group. She chuckled nervously but caught up to Rick along with the rest of the group. He busted through the door and went over to the reception desk. He leaned against it and looked over the pony behind it. She seemed fitting to be working at a clinic, with her white fur and nurse cap, and overall cheery demeanor.

"Hey, I'm a doctor and I need medical supplies the save the leg of a little boy who fell down a well, would you mind if I grabbed some?"

"Excuse me? What's a boy?"

Rick searched his mind for a second trying to find the right word, "Did I say boy? I meant a colt. He fell down a well."

"Oh my! Do you need any assistance trying to help him? You also look like you need some medical assistance..."

Rick looked down at the bite marks, "I'm fine, really. Oh and I won't be needing help though, it's pretty routine. I mean, when you're saving lives, this stuff becomes routine, am I right?"

They both laughed for a moment, but Rick became serious again.

"But I will be needing some medical supplies as fast as possible."

"Oh, yes, I almost forgot! Please, help yourself to what you need; the supplies are in that closet over there."

"Thank you, will do."

Rick turned around to see the six ponies from earlier watching him again. He sighed and walked off the medical supply closet, locking the door behind him. He looked around to find himself in a small room with shelves of various medical things and doodads. He took note of the window at the opposite end of the room and began searching for anything that he could use. He grabbed some bandages and gauze and began applying them after using alcohol to disinfect the wounds. Wrapping himself up, he began to look for what he really, really wanted at that moment, painkillers.

He heard knocking on the door, follow by, "Come out, you have nowhere to run!"

He recognized it as the blue pony he tricked earlier. Putting his head to the door, he began speaking.

"Yeah, sure. Excuse me Nurse… I'm sorry; I never got your name?"

"Redheart, Nurse Redheart."

"Excuse me Nurse Redheart, but I can't seem to find your painkillers. Can you describe them for me?"

"They should be in a medium sized bottle with a blue cap. The pills themselves should be grayish with an imprint of a heart on it."

"Found them, thanks."

Rick grabbed three painkillers and popped them in his mouth. Quickly, the pain went away and left Rick feeling very strange. He looked at the bottle again and saw the figure of a horse or pony on the bottle. He put his hand to his head and laughed.

"Wow, these are horse painkillers. I probably shouldn't have taken so many. These are going to get me fuuuuucckkkkeed uuuppp."

"Is there something wrong?"

"Nothing at all. Hey you six who like to annoy me at every turn, listen up."

When he heard nothing, he began again, "I'm going to unlock the door. Do not come in unless you want a punch to the snout or whatever it is you have. I'm going to walk out slowly."

After hearing a few murmurs, Rick unlocked the door, but left it closed. He turned around, quietly walked to the window and opened it. Going through was rather difficult because of his size, but he eventually got through the small space. He looked around and quickly walked towards what looked like the edge of the Forest.

He turned back to see that the six and what looked like a few more ponies were in chase of him. At his current rate of walking and their rate of galloping, they would get to him in only a few seconds. He hooked a left and walked down another street, immediately regretting that decision. The street he turned onto was filled with ponies talking to each other, which obviously presented a problem in his current state.

'What is this shit? A pony show?'

He moved into the crowd and ducked behind some ponies. Most watched him, unsure of what he was doing, or what he would do. He looked over the pony in front of him and saw the group from earlier arrived and was searching for him. He made his way past some ponies and weaved through the crowd. For him, this was one of the most uncomfortable things he had experienced as of yet. It made him shiver as he passed all of these little creatures with their oddly colored fur.

'I wish these ponies would really move their asses out of my way. Like, right now. Ugh, this shit is so weird.'

He got to the other end of the crowd and popped another pill, easing the pain of his quickening pace. He turned back to see the six, who stuck out pretty well, coming through the crowd. One got into the air and quickly saw him.

"There he is!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

'This is getting tiring, and I really don't want to deal with this right now.'

Pushing past the pain and his body's protests, he began running towards the edge of the Forest once again. He knew once he'd reach the Forest that he'd be pretty much home free.

'Really, these things aren't that stupid to follow me into that place… I think.'

Before he could consider it further, he was stopped early when he was tackled in the back by that blue Pegasus that spotted him earlier. Hitting his chin to the stone road, he slid roughly a few feet and got back up.

"Ow, my chin."

She landed across from him, cutting off one way of escape. He popped another pill and looked her over.

"So, are you what happens when a Skittles has sex with the sky?"

"Wha-"

"Never mind, it doesn't matter. Now why don't you move out of my way?"

She grunted, "And _why_ would I do that?"

"Well, it's just that I thought you'd let your number one fan through without any problems. But I guess you won't even remember us little people when you're famous."

Rick forced himself from grinning when he saw her face light up from that. It would pretty easy to coerce someone self-centered like her.

"Aw, that's not true!"

"Yeah it is! You'll even forget me, your number one fan."

"_You're_ my number one fan?"

"Uh, duh. But really, who isn't when you're as awesome as you?"

Her face gleamed with pride, "Yeah, well, I _am_ the fastest flier in all of Equestria."

Rick began inching his way around her while keeping eye contact, "_All of Equestria_? More like the whole world!"

She chuckled and shook her hoof at Rick, "You know, you're not that bad for a criminal."

"Yeah, well, I'm a complicated guy. Anyway, it was nice talking about how great you are, we should do it again some time."

Rick waved at her and began running towards the forest. Her smile eventually fell when she realized what just happened.

"TWILIGHT! HE DID IT AGAIN!"

Rick laughed and continued down the street. Taking note of how quick they would be to catch up, he ducked into an alley and kneeled behind some trash cans. He felt something round behind him and grabbed it, ready to throw it as a distraction. Peeking from behind the cans, he suddenly made eye contact with Pinkie Pie. She gave an overly exaggerated gasp, which was ended quickly when she was hit over the head with a half-eaten apple. Rick smiled, but it became a frown when he saw the other ponies coming into the alleyway, all with serious faces.

'Shit. I have nowhere to run. Except through them. Maybe…'

Rick pulled the top off the nearest trash can, lifted it, and threw the contents at the ponies approaching him. They were caught off guard and, by their facial expressions, seemed utterly disgusted, especially one particular white pony. He forced himself into the can and used the handle on the top to close himself in. Despite the horrid smell, he began moving to gain momentum.

The ponies looked at the trashcan moving in bewilderment.

Applejack snickered, "Did that snake just do that?"

Rarity looked as if she was close to passing out, "Oh how _disgusting!_"

Rainbow Dash, who forgot her anger at the creature that tricked her, was also uneasy at the sight, "Yeah, I gotta agree with Rarity on this one, this is kinda gross."

Rick began talking from inside the can, "You might want to get out of the way."

He began slowly rolling through the middle of the alley and past the six ponies. It turned and rolled into a wall, where it promptly stopped. Twilight ran out of the alley and used her magic to hold the trash can in place, keeping it closed.

From inside the can, Rick could hear talking about some sonic boom and keeping him in the air. For a moment, he considered if they had the technology capable of actually pulling off a sonic boom, but threw that thought away when he remembered that that didn't even seem to have any kind of transportation that wasn't powered by themselves. He noticed that he was being moved in the air now, and for some reason, he felt a lot of anticipation in what was going to come.

A few moments passed and then what sounded like an extremely fast-moving object flew somewhere around him. Slightly irritated at his current situation, he tried kicking open the lid. When it didn't budge, he grabbed the handle and curled into a fetal position. Almost immediately, he fell out of the can but still held onto the lid. Under him was what looked like a very far drop from his spot in the sky.

'Oh shit. This is bad.'

As he fell, he noticed something in the distance creating what looked like a cone and a rainbow trail as it dived near him. It reached a point and shot upwards, hurling a wave of energy in all directions. He blinked, thinking that his eyes were playing tricks on him, but soon saw that he was right next to a ripple of rainbow colored energy and force.

'OH_ FUCK!_ BLOWOUT _NOW!_'

In no time at all, the ripple hit him, sending him flying to the ground faster than he thought possible. He noticed it left a very distinct cut across his chest that radiated different colors. Looking back at the ground, he saw that he was coming in fast. He put the lid in front of his head as a purple aura covered his body.

'Whatever this shit is, it's slowing me down! Looks like I won't end up as a puddle on the ground after all. But that marks stings, and actually feels kind of weird. And not the good weird either.'

With his descent slowed, he crashed through the roof of a small house, breaking through both floors. He opened his eyes to find a family of ponies staring at him in awe. Whatever he landed on gave way to him, bringing him to the floor. Getting up, he saw that he landed on the dinner table of the family. He grabbed a spoon from a nearby bowl and took a bite of some odd looking, grainy food.

"That's pretty good."

He looked to what he assumed was the mother, who was smiling. He got up and walked out the door, closing it behind him. Over on his left was the square, while his right side led to the Forest. Obviously wanting to get out of the village as fast as possible, he headed right and down the long street towards the Everfree Forest.

* * *

><p>Twilight Sparkle looked around the area, but found nothing. It seemed it would be easy at first to find wherever Rick landed, but after actually going to find him, she figured out that unless she suddenly grew wings and flew into the sky to spot him, she'd end up losing him.<p>

Looking up to Rainbow Dash now, "Dash! Do you see where he went?"

Rainbow Dash scanned the area quickly, but found nothing.

"I don't know. I think he might be in one of the houses. Hey! There he is! Look over there!"

Dash pointed at a street not far from Twilight, where a very distinct, bi-pedal creature was making a mad dash to the Everfree Forest. Of course, that same mad dash wasn't very fast when something was wounded that much.

"Alright everypony, we're going to have to stop him! Any ideas?"

They obviously had _at least_ a good minute before he would get even _close_ to the edge of the Forest, but catching up to and stopping him would become another problem. The point of what they were doing wasn't to intentionally hurt him, but to see if Rick and Nightmare Moon were in fact plotting against the Princess. While it seemed to be somewhat of a long shot, there was no point in being too careful with the security of a nation at stake.

Twilight glanced back at the group to see that Applejack was already in the process of stopping him. Using a lasso attached to her tail, she swung an apple around in attempt to gain enough momentum to launch it at Rick.

Twilight gave a sheepish smile, "That's an idea, Applejack, but do you really think an apple is going to stop him?"

"I dunno Twi', but I figure it'll distract him long enough for us to catch up. Or…"

"Or?"

She smiled, "It might just make him _real_ mad."

"Oh."

With that, Applejack sent the apple flying to her target. In a short few seconds, it had already impacted Rick on the back of the neck, stopping his movement.

Applejack smirked, "Ya see? Stopped right in his tracks."

They galloped forward, keeping an eye on any sudden movements their target might just make. As they got closer, what could be noticed as light, grey smoke became more and more obvious coming from the back of Rick's neck, along with what looked like electric discharge. He turned around and looked at them with eyes that glowed a faint sepia color. For seemingly no reason, his mood changed immediately from anxious to outright happy.

"Hey!"

He ran over to Applejack, "Billy! I thought you were dead! How are the wife and kid? I haven't seen Vee and Al in such a long time. I bet Al grew up right? Yeah, they do that… Still wearing that raggedy hat, huh? Looks good on you though. Hey, why aren't you saying anything back?"

Worried glances were exchanged among the group as Applejack slowly backed up, "Uhh, mister? I think you got me confused with someone else?"

"Mister? Billy, I've known you for years, why the hell are you calling me Mister?" Rick began sniffing the air, "Hey, do you smell smoke?"

"It's the back of your neck, Sugarcube."

"Sugarcube? That sounds like a surprisingly hetero thing for you to say." He put his hands out apologetically, "I'm joking, I'm joking. Anyway, what was that about my neck?"

"It's smokin'."

Rick began feeling around the back of his neck and pulled it back immediately, "Ow, shit. I got shocked, why did I get shocked?"

He began stumbling back as he began regaining his senses, "Shit! I should have known this would happen eventually! Well, it has been _real_ fun, but I got to go find a surgeon and tell him he's about to perform a very rare surgery. Peace out."

Rick watched carefully the five ponies carefully as he began to walk backwards towards the Forest.

Taking notice to a missing member of the group, Twilight called out, "Dash! Where'd you go?"

Before anypony could respond however, she heard a surprised yell and a two objects colliding at very high speeds. Turning back to the scene, she saw that Rainbow Dash tackled Rick straight into a nearby building. From what she had seen though, it would take quite a bit more to fully stop him. She looked closer at Rick laying against the building and noticed that he had indeed stopped moving as more sparks came from the shiny metallic piece on the back of his neck.

Twilight moved closer to see if he was still conscious, followed by the rest of the group. She stopped when he saw him get up and brush himself off as the discharge ceased.

"Whoa, what the-"

* * *

><p>A very interesting situation was the best way to describe what I was in right now. I tried to remember something about what exactly was happening around me, but I just kept drawing up blanks. In fact, that's all I could draw up, blanks. For whatever reason, I couldn't remember a thing. Something in the air caught my attention. It smelt like smoke and I heard a very faint cackling coming from behind me. When I looked back, there was nothing. That wasn't the problem of course; the <em>real<em> problem was what was surrounding me.

Forming a crowd were these _things._ They were something else, and not in a positive way either. Horses, maybe? Big eyes, weird colors, horns, wings, small size. Something wasn't right, and frankly, I didn't want to be around long enough to see what exactly these things were. Other than these _things_, my surroundings were pretty much what looked like a village. Maybe I was in some third-world country in Europe nobody cares about? I mean, it _had_ to be a possibility, right?

I looked to my left and saw six specific things stand out amongst the crowd. They seemed to vary, but one stood out more than the rest. It was purplish and had a horn. It was giving me a weird look. Could these things give me a weird look? That could have been its normal face for all I know. I shook my head and laughed, because honestly, the situation I was in right there was something only a _really great_ drug could give you. I thought about that for a second. Why did I know that?

Coming back to reality again, I noticed these things weren't expecting me to laugh. The faces in the crowd weren't exactly warm and welcoming. Another reason to leave though, right? Right. I looked to my right and saw some trees. When my eyes connected to the center of it though, something clicked in my head. I _felt_ something. Like I _needed _to go there. I kept my eyes on these things as I slowly walked over and through the crowd. Let me just say, it was nowhere near a pleasant experience for me. It was like wading through a pool of mixed emotions and anxiety.

I looked back to see those oddly specific ones trailing behind. Biting my lip, I started moving faster but slowed down when I felt pain in my chest. I wasn't wearing a shirt, but plenty of bandages and gauze with red stains on them. At least I had shorts on. I felt around to see if there was anything I had on me, and grabbed for what looked like a glass bottle. I looked back. Those things were getting closer. I looked over the label, but I couldn't understand whatever language it was in. Uncorking the top and putting a few in my hand, I smelt it to see if I could recognize the pills. Nothing came to mind at first.

_Take one._

I looked back, but no one was speaking behind me. Only eyes staring at me. I put back three and swallowed the last one. It was slightly bitter, but nothing I couldn't handle. Then, the rush hit me. The pain was gone, and I felt some weight come off my shoulders. Whatever the drug was, it felt _amazing,_ but oddly familiar. That wasn't something to worry over though, because now that I could work through the pain, I could actually start moving faster. So that's what I did, moved faster.

Jogging now, I looked back again to see those things looking up. I tripped over a rock and fell the ground. I rolled over and looked at the sky, where I saw something flying over head. I forced myself up and continued towards the forest. Nervousness was creeping up inside me from seeing that. There had to be a reason why, and sticking around to find out would be pretty stupid. Then, it landed in front of me.

"STOP RIGHT THERE, CRIMINAL SCUM!"

I looked around for a second. Oh. They meant me, didn't they? Of course, I did stop. Not because of being ordered to, but because one of those things actually spoke. How the hell do you explain _that?_ I shook my head, because I _must have_ just imagined it. I knew I could talk, but these things? I expected sounds, not words. But before I knew it, these things were circling me. Tactics? They must be decently developed predators then? Or maybe they were just smart? Smart enough to speak fluently and to know how to use numbers, but not human. This was new.

I tried my best to watch all of them, but they were really unnerving me with all their eyes now. One of them actually managed to sneak me, when I wasn't looking of course. These four seemed to part of some kind of police force. All white, uniform, and wearing the exact same Romanesque armor. They were tagging something along, and it fit this whole "theme" they were trying to pull. It looked like a chariot of some kind. In my opinion, it seemed a bit over the top.

Anyway, the one that sneaked me tackled me to the ground, which probably should have hurt more than it did. Whatever the pill was, it was a hell of a painkiller too. Two others pulled my arms to my back and hooked them together with something, most likely handcuffs, if they actually had them that is. Obviously, I was _not _in the mood for this.

"Hey, uhh, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

One of them pressed its foot, or hoof, to the back of my head and pressed down. The pill didn't stop that pain one bit and once I started struggling, he got off.

"Are you going to answer me? What's the meaning of this?"

The one that knocked me to the floor glared at me, "The Princesses would like to have a word with you in regards to Nightmare Moon."

"Princesses? The hell is a 'Nightmare Spoon'?"

"You will remain quiet until you've reached the Princesses' chambers."

"As if. How about you let me go before I file a lawsu-"

Of course, police tend not to respect your rights wherever you go, and the next thing I knew, a hoof came down on my face faster than a bowling ball. At that point, I must have blacked out, because the last thing I remember seeing was village from the sky.

When I came to, I was being dragged down a corridor and pushed through large double doors. They put me down on the floor and just let my face rub against what I thought was a disgusting floor. Turns out it was actually pretty clean, but that didn't change the fact that these guys were messing with me for no reason. Really, who cuffs someone without explaining the charges, knocks them out, and then drags them off to someplace?

"You're back. Let's discuss a few things, shall we?"

I tried to get up to look at whatever was talking to me, but that actually proved harder than I originally thought. After a few awkward attempts, one of the guards actually had the decency to help me up. Now that I was firmly planted on my own feet, I looked ahead to see something spectacular. It was one of those horse things, expect this one happened to be larger and its hair, or mane or whatever it's called, was like something out of a bad(or good) drug trip. Multicolored and moving like it had a mind of its own, it seemed like some freaky-deeky thing out of a movie or something. Then I noticed the horn and wings, which could only mean one thing, this one held some kind of power over the others. It stood out differently in every way from the others, so would it be wrong to assume it _was _different?

For whatever reason, seeing it or her, whichever worked, made me feel sort of insignificant. I don't know why, but I felt it was_ required_ of me to respect her. I didn't deny her that, because as weird as she looked, she still looked amazing. It seemed a bit weird to call a horse-thing amazing though, looking back at it. I made eye contact with it, and two images were presented in my mind. One was of the Moon's landscape, and the other was a horse in similar shape and stature as this one, but darker and more mysterious. I shook my head, and when I looked back at her, she didn't seem as great as I originally thought.

I don't know why those crossed my mind, or changed it for that matter, but there was some kind of significance there. She came down from a higher position in the room, which was fit for a "Princess", and stood in front of me with a face that looked calm, but with slight tones of authority and apprehension. That seemed like an odd mix for someone who just came into her life while cuffed. Well, maybe not, but it was sort of insulting at first. I noticed all these other things were bowing for her, so I guess it was something required. I kneeled down too, but when I did, my legs locked up and I fell back. Out of nowhere, I felt angry at myself.

_Just what the hell do you think you're doing?_

My head shot around for that surprisingly familiar voice that didn't seem to exist. They were looking at me oddly, but I couldn't care less.

_Care to explain why you did that? _

"Explain what?"

They seemed a bit worried at my random outburst to no one in particular.

_Kneeling? Like you even _recognize_ her authority? You're better than that. Do not kneel for anyone.  
><em>

I got up and began speaking louder.

"Better than what? Who the hell are you?"

_You're making yourself look retarded, stop that. Acting like a common person when you aren't is disgusting. _

I looked around to see if anyone was talking to me, but no lips were moving. A few glances were exchanged across the room between those things, and that made me look around too. I noticed that there were three of those six from earlier, and there were two guards near me with two guards near the big horse-thing. The room itself was lavish and was probably this thing's room. There was a bed, a desk, and other random things I didn't even feel like giving any attention to. Overall, this place was the nicest bedroom I'd ever seen or would ever see.

The large one got closer, "Is there something wrong?"

"Other than I wasn't told my Miranda Rights, why I was brought here, what the hell you things are, what drug I'm on, and a bunch of other stuff that seems to be evading my train of thought right now? Nothing, I guess."

One of the guards hit me in the back, "Show respect for the Princess."

I winced, "I don't see a point in showing what I don't have for something."

That got me a harder kick.

"Guards, please try not to hit our guest."

"Yes, Your Highness."

_Nice comment. Keep it up._

"Just what are you things? You're vaguely familiar, but I can't place it. In fact, I can't place much other than a few random facts."

Her gaze switched from me to one of ones behind me, but she turned back to me before I could figure out whom.

"So you have lost your memory?"

Now that she actually brought it up, I considered it. I didn't exactly know who I was, where I was, where I was from, and I couldn't bring up anything from earlier than when I got up in that village. But amnesia didn't sound like the right word, at least for me it didn't.

"I guess?"

"Tell me, what is your name?"

Did I even have a name? She obviously knows something I don't, and she was raising the tension in the room by not telling me.

"I don't have one."

"Everyone has a name. Try to think back."

She was right, _everyone_ has a name. Thinking back didn't work however, so I couldn't prove her words were really correct.

"Nothing's coming up."

"I see… Do you know what you are?"

"Human."

"And us?"

"Not a clue. Horses? Something like that."

"Not exactly. We are ponies."

The words "no shit" came into my mind for some reason.

"Ponies. How, uhh, interesting."

"Yes, well, we'd like to ask you a few questions, if you don't mind."

"I won't if you return the favor."

She smiled at me, "Of course."

"I guess we should start talking then."

"Now, what do you remember from earlier?"

"Nothing."

"Does the name 'Nightmare Moon' bring anything up?"

_Oh yeah, it definitely brought something up for quite a while. And let me tell you, it was _up!

"The hell? Uh, nothing really."

She got closer and looked me in the eye, "Are you sure?"

"Positive. Is that it?"

"I suppose so for now, at least, until you regain your memory."

"About that, I think it's my turn?"

She nodded, "A deal is a deal."

"Who am I? I know you know something."

"You were one of my guards until you were kidnapped."

Another image crossed my mind. This time it was that same dark horse again. How could I have been this "pony's" guard and not remember? Have to just keep asking questions, then.

"Who was I kidnapped by?"

"Nightmare Moon."

"Who's that?"

"A manifestation of evil power."

I caught myself gritting my teeth for some reason, "Why don't I believe that?"

"Are you insinuating that I'm a liar?"

"Yes. I want the truth, not this _crap!_"

A guard knocked me to the floor, "You'd be wise to show respect to royalty!"

"And is this royalty in charge here? A monarchy?"

The guard nodded and got off of me. A monarchy? That irked me for some reason, and I didn't know why. That didn't seem right for some reason.

_You don't like the idea of it, right? Here, repeat after me, but say "I" when I say "You", okay? You._

Slowly getting up, I did what I was told.

"I."

_Don't._

"Don't."

_Recognize._

"Recognize."

_Royalty._

"Royalty."

_Or._

"Or."

_Monarchies._

"Monarchies."

_Only._

"Only."

_The._

"The."

_People._

"People."

Something hit me on the back of the neck and pretty hard, because I was losing consciousness.

A guard moved close to my ear, "You shall not disrespect the Princesses, or Equestria."

"Go to hell."

I got hit again, and I could swear I heard that cackling again. Right when I thought I'd slip into consciousness, things got brighter. A lot brighter. There was something else too, like something was being taken off my mind. Then, I finally felt it.

A true sense of clarity.

* * *

><p>Rick got up and cracked his neck both ways, unnerving the ponies around him. He smiled knowingly and walked up to Celestia.<p>

"Well, well, well. We meet again and," he rattled the cuffs, "under good circumstances."

* * *

><p>It's been a good while since I've updated this story, and I cut this chapter short to flow better. Of course, flowing better means I'd have to put more chapters in to compensate for what would have been in the previous ones where I cut content out, which happens pretty often. Anyway, I would never normally do this, and by "this" I mean respond to reviews (it personally seems unprofessional for some reason), but I feel like it's sorta are going to be exclusive to Chapter 13, at least for Chapter 14 that is.<p>

Starting from Solrac- Sorry to disappoint, but yeah, I intended her description to be vague while it was hinted at that she was human. I realize that may be just as cliche as humans into ponies, but the fact she was human was meant to come up again later for another reason.

Michael Blackburn- Gotta keep traditions alive.

RedVsBlue327- Just to clarify, Tobias is actually the hero of this story.

Spyrolink- Tobias is just misunderstood. Probably.

Shadowfire117 aka the only person who can click "3" apparently- Moral gray areas are real fun, aren't they? Also, I always wanted Rick to become a villain for a period of time since the beginning of writing this fic, because walking on both edges of the blade is even funner.

LouieBB- Rick gets to torture, or interrogate, someone later. Should be fun.

SON OF BITCH- I was thinking about making a HWG reference, but I really wouldn't want to develop that character and keep it vague and probably only used once.

(Unnamed)- He curses by habit, he isn't an astronaut, and he didn't need to do shit to get into space.

TheArchive- You're right, the story has a lot of problems and it should eventually be addressed. But just to clarify, Rick isn't the protagonist and you really aren't supposed to like him that much (of course, you _can_ like him if that's what you like, but he's intentionally an asshole who likes to fuck around with things around him, ponies included). He's meant to be arrogant, sadistic, immature, impulsive, hateful, and disliked.

Hellite Swarmer- Tingly is good.

John Creel- Yeeeaaaah.

Anyway, there's another thing I should be specifying about, the plot. When I began Stasis, I didn't know where the hell it would go at all. Of course, the more I considered the plot, the more ideas came into my mind. The first ones were pretty bad, looking back at it, but hopefully I can pull it all together now. But it occurred to me that I ended up plotting too far ahead and now the only way I can see Stasis really ending is after three parts. The first would cover Rick's part, the second would cover Aden's during the three weeks, and the last would come from different characters' perspectives. Will that work? Most likely not, because it would be too much damn work to write all that. While on the subject of plot, I think I should explain Rick's first person narration. The chip in the back of Rick's neck, which I forgot for a bit, is meant to be his Achille's Heel to a point. Obviously, damaging an object that control's certain body functions and thought patterns will have undesired effects, such as memory loss and hallucinations. The hat Applejack wears is meant to be similar to Billy's, which makes Rick think she's him. The first person part was more like an experimentation, but I wanted Rick to be able to have a conversation with himself at some point in the fic, so why not then?

Well, I think that's it for now.

As always, Stay Trilla.


	15. Chapter 15

**Stasis**

**Chapter 15: Backtrack  
><strong>

**By: Stillmatic**

* * *

><p>"Excuse me?"<p>

He laughed, "Oh, don't think I don't remember everything we just said. And everything else too. My name? Rick Vali. Nightmare Moon? Not evil, just one sexy piece of ass. Me being your guard?_ As if!_ Now, don't treat me like an idiot, because I'm far from it. In fact, I just reached a state of not only remembrance, but mental clarity. So, get rid of these losers around us and let's talk, shall we?"

Princess Celestia was stunned for a moment, but nodded.

"Guards, please leave."

"But Your Highness-"

"That was an order."

"Yes, Your Highness."

The guards left, but glared at Rick as he smiled at them.

Rick motioned his head to the three other ponies on the other side of the room, "Them too."

Celestia nodded at them, signaling for them to leave.

"Wait. Not her. She stays to listen."

"Who?"

"Twilight Snarkle or whatever her name is."

"You mean my student, Twilight Sparkle?"

"Whichever's the purple one."

"Would you mind staying Twilight?"

"Of course, Princess."

Rick couldn't remember the names of the other two, but he recognized them as cowboy one and rainbow one. They gave uneasy looks to Twilight and Celestia as they walked out, with the large double doors closing behind them. Twilight stood on the right side of Celestia as Rick stretched a bit.

"Alright then," he began, "let's start."

"Of course. You wouldn't mind if I started, would you?"

"Go ahead."

"What happened to you?"

He bent his neck, exposing what looked like a dark grey piece of metal on the back of it.

"You see that? That's a neural chip. It uses electro-stimulation to get a desired effect achieved in the body through the spine and brain. It also injects chemicals or forces my body to create its own. Now you see, when it's tampered with, it will most likely give off an electrical discharge. In other words, it'll give me the wrong kind of electro-stimulation, with all the wrong side effects, understand?"

"Yes, but what kind of side effects exactly are we talking about?"

"Hallucinations and memory loss were the ones I experienced, but it could have been worse."

"Worse how?"

"I might have been thrown into a frenzy and tore off the heads of any nearby ponies. The effects vary with each blow, so I can't say for sure what exactly will happen each time."

"I understand. Now onto more pressing matters. Would you tell us what exactly happened to you three weeks ago?"

He chuckled, "The hardest part about the business is minding your own, right?" He got a sour look from both of them, "Well, Moon and me-"

She waved a hoof in front of them, "Excuse me, 'Moon'?"

"Yes, Moon. Nightmare Moon."

"You call her 'Moon'?"

Rick raised an eyebrow, "Yeah? What's wrong with that?"

Celestia laughed a little, "Nothing at all."

"Riiiight. Anyway, me and her left the diner, went to the room I stayed in while here, picked up the box, took it back to the Forest Castle, dropped it off there, and then we went to her observatory."

"Observatory?" Celestia said curiously, "What exactly did you do at her observatory?"

Rick began laughing in a state of reminiscing, "Ooohhh man, what _didn't_ we do?" He looked back at them, "Other than each other, of course."

He saw both of them blush as Twilight backed up a little.

"Did I say something wrong?"

Princess Celestia cleared her throat, "Oh, uh, of course not. I don't believe we have any more questions for now." She gave a sheepish smile at Rick, hoping he wouldn't go into further details.

Of course, it was bound to happen, "Heh, wow. Looking back at it now, I gotta say that was a real fun ride. _Real fun._ Oh, get this: she likes wine just as much as I do. Personally, I've always been an avid wine taster." He smiled warmly, "Lotsa wine… and milk and honey. I didn't need any of that stuff to get into the groove though, ya' know? I mean, like wow, she is _amazing!_" He chuckled, "Let me tell you, she talks dirty, but her mouth's _clean. _Sexy as fuck." He groaned, "That ass… Mesmerizing. Oh and don't even get me started on her-"

"STOP!"

Rick came out of his nostalgia trip to look at Twilight, who was both blushing and uncomfortable.

She gave a sheepish smile, just like her mentor, "Please?"

Rick got close to her face, "What's wrong, faint of heart?"

She began blushing more, "N-no! It's just that- that this isn't appropriate talk for this situation!"

"Depends on how you see it. I mean, do _you_ find it inappropriate?"

"Huh?"

"Never mind, that question has been answered. Anyway, to answer your question," Rick snapped his fingers a few times, as awkward as that was when they were behind your back, to try and remember her name, "Celestia?" She nodded, "We pretty much hung out and did some things."

"For three weeks?"

He grinned, "We had a lot to do."

Celestia actually laughed at that, "Very well then, we'll leave it at that." Her face grew serious again, "But something has been nagging me for quite a while."

"What?"

She got closer to Twilight wouldn't hear, "What exactly happened between you and Luna that night?"

Rick stared at her, "What? You're serious?"

She glared at him, "Very."

"We had pie, we got attacked, that's the end of it."

"She seemed very distraught and anxious for quite a while. Are you sure nothing happened between you?"

Rick sighed, "Listen, Luna is nice and all, but she's too… Damn, what's the word… Ah, she just doesn't have that calm, collected charm, that ability to take charge or that feisty flair when it's called for. I mean, to be with a guy like me, you have to be the H.B.I.C."

"H.B.I.C.?"

"The Head Bitch In Charge. And Moon fits that perfectly."

Celestia shook her head, "I don't understand, what do you see in her that makes you defend her like that?"

Rick sighed again, "When Selene died, I thought my life and love life was over. My sex drive was shot, and I thought this," he looked at the left side of his upper chest, "concrete thing stopped beating for anyone a long time ago. But then Luna and Moon came into the picture. I saw Selene in both of them, but more so in Moon, probably because she was so fun and tough. I actually started to feel things again, and it was amazing. I didn't really know what to think though, I mean, here I was hooking up with a pony in a human's body, and I didn't really care. That's why I defend Moon the way I do, because I can feel something for her and I know she isn't 'evil'. I guess it's all just a matter of which angle you look at things."

Celestia looked down, "I see. I have another question."

"Go on."

"Do you have a problem with authority, or is it just me and my guards?"

"A problem with authority? If I had a problem with authority, I would have been killed a long time ago. Of course, there's only one authority I recognize, which is my own government."

"You don't seem to have much respect for ours however."

"Respect? Is that where this is going?"

"You don't seem to have it for many ponies, if any. Was this how you acted back on your planet?"

He sighed, "On my planet, I never really had freedom. Yeah, I could roam around and do whatever I want for a bit, but I always had a mission or something that needed my attention. I worked for the government and they put me to use really often." He gave a sad laugh followed by a head shake, "Respect is for those that feel they need it. I don't need it, so I won't give it." His smile fell, "Do you know what it's like to be trapped without freedom for possibly your whole life? It feels like shit. Back in the 1920's, my ancestor signed a 'hush-hush' contract with the U.S. government that he would work for them. In return, his family would be protected by them from his old bosses, whom I'd expect to be an Italian family who dealt in illicit activities, you know what I mean? He was a hitman apparently. The point is he didn't really look through the contract well enough, with human error and all that. What he didn't know was that in also in return for the protection, his descendents would take his place when he died or retired. Oddly enough, only one son has survived in every generation since that time. No daughters, just sons. Of course, that changed with Jenine, but I'd rather not get into that. The contract has only changed in one way, exiting from it. The only ways are dying, earning your freedom through a pivotal act in advancing the United States, and retiring to allow your children to take your place."

"So why haven't you allowed yourself to retire? Admittedly, I don't like the idea of putting your children in your place, but I assume you haven't been able to make a large enough difference in your country as to earn your freedom."

"You're right, I haven't. This mission was supposed to be the one. Do some preliminary tests on the Moon, make sure we could set up a colony, and come back down a hero. Things tend not to work out in my favor when it relates to exiting the contract. Some might think there's a greater force keeping me in it, but I'd rather not be a superstitious loser, because it's my fault that I haven't yet. And about putting my kids in my place, never going to happen. I will never damn my kids that same way I've been. I'd rather have them not exist than for them to go through the worst has to offer. But, I already have one, don't I? I suppose I technically adopted Tyrone once I picked him up, but I really wish I could spend more time with him."

"Why haven't you then? Spending time with your child can only help your relationship with him."

"Because even if he's not human, I don't want him acting like his human father. I was surprised to feel this way but… it actually scares me to think he might end up like me. Like father, like son. I haven't spent enough time with him. That makes me a horrible father, doesn't it?"

"Well I wouldn't say-"

"No, you would." Rick sighed, "I think he actually looks up to me. And Trixie might just too. What happens when they figure out I'm not some kind of 'hero' who saved their lives? What happens when they learn that all I've done with my life is taking other's lives and cheat other nations for the betterment of my own? Will I have taken their innocence and corrupted their view of me? It's really, really nerve-wracking."

Not sure what to say or how to console him, Princess Celestia said the first thing that came to mind, "I suppose you could not tell them about your previous actions? Consider this a fresh start and leave all that behind?"

"Leave it behind? How can I leave it behind when I'm eventually going to back to it? Once Aden drops in, I'm outta here. But… what'll happen to Trixie and Tyrone? I can't take them with me; they'll end up as test subjects or get dissected in some lab." He shook his head, "I guess I'll just have to decide when the time comes."

"And what are your choices? I don't expect that you'll stay here to live your life out in the Everfree Forest."

"I'll have to go back to my planet, that's for sure. Once there, I'm back on my beat and out on the street. Well, that's not exactly the right wording, but I think you get the idea."

"Not exactly. Really, how you speak is hard enough to understand as is, with all the odd words and slang."

"Brooklyn colloquial is the best. Anyway, as soon as I'm home, I'm back on the job and out fighting the somewhat good fight." He began thinking something over in his head, "Maybe one day, I'll be able to get away from the government's grip, but even _that_ gets more complicated than it needs to be."

"Complicated?"

"I can't bring myself to abandon the country I've lived in all my life. I'm _needed_. I prevent horrible things from happening all the time. And why would the U.S. want to give up its star player? I mean, my personal contract was valued at two hundred twenty something million dollars. For an agent's contract, that's a stupid high amount. A good amount probably got added because I'm high on the Atlantic International Congress's roster of active agents. Just imagine that, thousands and thousands of people all over the world vying for the top spot… I'm getting off track. The point is, I'm a patriot at heart, and I'd be willing to do the unspeakable things that I have to. Sure, I'll complain, but I'll still do it because I have a job to do. Without it, I'm as good as nothing. It's just one of those things you love and hate so much that it ends up taking over your whole life."

"I can't truly understand your situation _and_ it seems to make no sense at all. How do you let yourself be used so easily? How do you make yourself do the things you do and just shrug them off like nothing? You call yourself a patriot, but it looks like you hate your country."

"Hate it? No… I love it. I just wish I was on the better end that didn't kill so often. Why do I let myself get used? Because that's the only way I know how to live. How do I just shrug off the things I do? Because I force myself to be emotionally numb when I'm on the job. I don't see people as people anymore, just possible targets. Making them seem non-human makes it easier to blow a hole through them. That and a lot of the other things I do help ease the guilt."

"Ease the guilt? What could you possibly do to ease the guilt of killing another living thing?"

"The way I act, my attitude, and what I say are all byproducts of my actions. You can't live life while taking lives and not change yourself in some way. If I didn't act like an asshole with no regard for other people, I would probably be a sensitive person who cared about all of those around him, right? I can't live like that. People die around me every day, if I let myself experience that each time and let the guilt and the sorrow build up, I would have killed myself by now. Human emotion is a powerful thing, and devastating in the right situation. I mostly felt anger before, but ever since coming here, I started to actually get everything else back."

"Everything else?"

"Everything else. Happiness, love, spite, hate, fear, and so much more."

"I don't believe that. Nopony could just get rid of their emotions and then get them back."

"You're forgetting one thing, I'm not a pony. I don't know how all of you think, feel, and live, but it's like you're not feeling the full spectrum of emotions."

"What do you mean?"

"It's like you guys aren't used to being scared or hurt, or even mad. That's actually kind of sad."

"It's sad that we don't experience negative emotions?"

"Negative? Those things have kept me alive in situations where my chance of survival was next to nothing. I was captured and put into a Russian mental hospital once where they drugged the hell out of me. When I managed to break free, it was my anger that killed all the guards in my way. It was my fear of never getting home that made me push past all the things running in my systems. I'd be lost without those feelings."

"But you seem to be relying on those too often. Have you ever just stopped and try to feel others?"

"Like I have the time. To stay on top of my game, I got to keep a continuous schedule that leaves me with no time to think about my actions. But being here has screwed that up so bad, I don't know what to do. I have no orders, no directive, and no superior telling me what to do next. What I have now is freedom, so much that I don't know what to do with it. It's like giving a child the key to a massive toy store with no supervision. I've honestly just been dicking around this planet trying to entertain myself."

"So all the crimes you've committed were just for your fun? That is the single most immature thing I've ever heard in my entire time as ruler of Equestria."

"There's no reason to be mature on the battlefield, because when you finally die, you won't experience the fun you could have had. I learned that a long time ago, and I'm sticking with it. It's sickening to hold everything in during bad times, and I've seen plenty of people die because they wouldn't talk out their problems or held everything in until it exploded and they ran right into the middle of a gunfight and were torn to bits. But yeah, I've just been trying to have fun this whole time until Aden comes down from the Moon and gets me out of here. Then things will go back to the way they were meant to."

"How exactly did he get on the Moon from your planet? Considering it now, how did _you_ get here?"

"I don't know really, but I know it has to do with gravitational anomalies and the Moon itself. What I'm thinking is that I've somehow ended up in another universe."

"_Another universe_?" Celestia began laughing, "I'm sorry; it's just that even children _here_ know that crossing universes is impossible."

"We've already gone to other universes. Actually, only one human has at least."

"Only one?"

"Yes, Dr. Jack Becket. One of the smartest men I never knew personally. He was working on this stuff for _years_. But that's the cost of advancing humanity, right? Anyway, he attempted to use a prototype Displacer unit, which was stupid because he could have gotten someone else to do it, and then used it on himself. He was never seen again until that one time at Shephard's Island's underground labs. Now if I remember right, he pretty much has cross-dimensional and cross-universal power at his fingertips. He can go to any point in time, at any location, and do anything he wants."

"So what has he been doing since he's disappeared?"

"No one knows. All I know is that he recruited two other people for whatever reason."

"And they were?"

"Dr. Arne Keller and what looked like the chief of security at Shephard's Island. Both seemed to be pretty damn able to keep themselves alive during that whole ordeal."

"Do those kinds of things happen often?"

"I've never seen anything like what I saw at that island. Crimes against nature. Freakish, mutated, abominations that deserve to be killed on site."

"How can you say that? Those are living beings too!"

"Creatures with only murder on their mind! They killed anything in their way!"

"Just like you?"

Rick stopped and looked down. He looked back up and deep into Celestia's eyes, "Just like me… Good observation."

There was an awkward silence for a few moments. Rick exhaled deeply and around the room.

"Nice place you got here. Very… princessy."

"Thank you, I designed it in my free time only a few years ago."

"Yeah, you must get bored ruling an entire country, so you went into interior design, right? I probably could have got you your own show on some network, and I'd assume it would probably be a hit."

"I'm sorry; I didn't understand anything past 'interior design'."

"You guys are missing out on great things. I mean, you're all at least somewhere between five hundred to eight hundred years behind us technologically, because this is where we were then. But you guys don't seem to be fighting or have any decent war-inspired technology, if any at all."

"We haven't needed it, and I believe us to be better off without it."

"Yeah, until someone is knocking on your country's door, asking to come in and take everything."

"We haven't had any invaders in a _very _long time. In fact, over time, negative emotions and anything related to violence have disappeared deep into the minds of ponies. It's slowly been eked out to the point where it was nearly nonexistent, but that all changed when you started to rile up ponies internal defenses. My guards, for example, don't seem to have much restraint around you. I assume it's because of how brutish and violent you can be, so it would be necessary for them to act the same way to you to yield positive results. In other words, you're bringing out the worst in them, the unneeded emotions that have been locked away for a thousand years. But I digress, and would like to get back on topic. It isn't necessary to be equipped for war when it hasn't existed for well over a thousand years."

"From my experience, I know that war will always find its way between countries. But hey, that's my world, not yours."

"And how often does your country get into wars with others? You make it seem as though it's relatively often."

"Well, there was a war that went for over a hundred years that ended back in '56. Because of what was known as the worst economic depression in Earth's history, fighting for resources became a common thing among countries. All scientific advancement stopped for the most part, because it was next to impossible to even get funding for almost anything. Then something must have happened, because things went back to normal at some point. Of course, I wasn't born yet and didn't have to experience that."

"I'm sorry if this may come off as rude, and I hope you don't mind me asking, but how old are you?"

"Well, I'm going to turn thirty pretty soon. Man, saying that makes me feel like an old geezer. And to think I've spent a good part of those thirty years fighting. That seems amazing, because life expectancy for an agent isn't exactly a high number, especially when it's consecutive service."

"If thirty years makes you an old geezer, then I must be ancient."

"I wouldn't consider a couple thousand years to be ancient, but that may be a long time here. Well, for any living thing I guess."

"And it isn't on your world?"

"Oh it is, at least when you don't live forever, right? Anyway, just to finish where I left off, there was a war not too long ago that I partook in, and it was a mess for both sides."

"By mess, do you mean heavy casualties, or…"

"Everything. I mean, there were mass killings in invaded cities, threats of nuclear war, anarchy, and for four years, the entire world became jack-shit that was only a playground for whoever had the bigger gun to put out. It wasn't all that bad though, because it never really is _that bad_. It's just that the people who've experienced it tend to exaggerate it to a point. Those who don't experience it are either lucky or are going to have their luck run out, because experience in survival is a necessary skill. Because when America was invaded, _everyone_ picked up a gun. Convicts, the police, old people, teenagers, religious figures, government officials and so many more different groups. In some way, it brought people together, despite differences. I wasn't around to see that though, I was fighting in Serbia, and most notably the city of Belgrade. Whoo, what a fucking _disaster!_ Apparently, Aden was there too, but I never saw him. I always wondered if he ever saw the same things I did, but we don't talk about the Congressional War anymore."

"When you tell us things like that, it makes me wonder how you're entire world is still alive. I don't mean to be rude or narrow-minded, but with how many lives have been taken in your world, wouldn't there be nopony left to fight?"

"Earth has over nine billion humans living on it, so I don't think we're going to run out of people to fight any time soon."

"_NINE BILLION?_"

"Yeah. Why, don't you have a few billions ponies around?"

"You must realize that this world has more than just ponies. Different creatures have different nations, such as the highly aristocratic Griffon monarchy or the very lucrative Diamond Dog nation. There are less than one million ponies however, and they're spread all over the world."

"I suppose you guys don't breed that often, not as much as humans anyway." Something came to Rick's mind, "You know, I've been thinking about something."

"And what's that?"

"You're older than the rest of the ponies, right?"

"Yes, very much older."

"So would it be wrong to assume you've seen your fair share? Things like what I've seen?"

She looked back at Twilight Sparkle and moved closer to Rick, "Yes, I have seen my fair share, but that was _long_ ago. Please, I don't want my student to find out about long forgotten history that doesn't require resurfacing, so can we drop this?"

He considered something for a moment, "Of course, but I'd like to ask another question."

She looked at him warily, "If it doesn't pertain to anything related to your last question, I suppose."

"This 'magic' you use, what exactly are the limits?"

"Define 'limits'."

"How flexible is it?"

"Quite flexible, depending on how far you're willing to go when it comes to using magic."

"Very interesting… Now let's say in a completely hypothetical situation, that I wanted to see a past memory in third-person. Would that be possible?"

"Of course, with the right spell. But from what I hear, you _can_ use magic. Or is that just another rumor created by ponies whose imaginations run amuck when a new creature comes by?"

"What I can do isn't magic. I've been considering it for a long time and I realized something."

"What was it?"

"I have the same abilities that Hadrian has. According to Tobias, I was never given it by them, and I always had it. You see, for the short time I knew Hadrian, he was a mastermind with all sorts of physics-bypassing power. I mean, psychokinesis was one of them, and what else I saw was pyrokinesis, cryokinesis, electrokinesis and even gravikinesis. I'm not sure if that's a word, but it's damn destructive. These things aren't supposed to be possible, yet he does it with ease. And now I can do it? There has to be something tying all of this together, but it isn't magic."

"And how do you know that? Magic can exist in your world."

"I have a feeling that it isn't. I mean, we have all these weird, unexplainable anomalies in this world, but why _can't _it be explained? Magic shouldn't exist because it isn't held back by physics or nature, but it does! Well I'm getting off topic, and I want to do exactly what I just asked. Can you do it?"

"Let yourself watch a memory?"

"Yeah. I have a few specific ones in mind."

"I suppose it couldn't hurt, but…" Celestia looked down at Twilight Sparkle, "I don't think it would be appropriate to bring my student along. I don't know what we may be in for, and I will _not_ allow her to see anything that may scar her."

Twilight looked up at Princess Celestia with a pout, "Princess, I'm sure I can handle the experience." She grinned, "I really want to see what other worlds are like, and this could be my only chance!"

Rick moved away from the two ponies speaking to each other and looked around the room again. He looked back to see they were done, with the smaller, purple one with a dejected look on her face. Princess Celestia moved over to Rick with a small frown.

"Shall we start?"

"Yeah, and I think you're going to like the setting."

"Oh really? I'll be quite honest, I've been wondering what your planet looked like."

"It's pretty nice. So, how does this work?"

"Just focus on the memory, and I'll handle the rest."

"Shouldn't be too hard."

Rick sat against a wall and thought about a memory as his vision began clouding. Over the next minute, he was left sitting on the floor next to Princess Celestia with a blank stare at the ceiling.

* * *

><p>The next moment, the two of them were spectating one of Rick's memories from only a few years earlier. They seemed to be in mid-air, following Rick as he sat on the top of a Humvee moving through a desert like terrain. Half a dozen or so military vehicles were making their way down a long stretch of dirt road, kicking up dust as they passed sparse vegetation.<p>

_Celestia looked astounded, "What is this place? The sun shines so bright here!"_

"_This is Sierra Leone. I was given orders to spearhead a group of mercenaries to a false village where rebel leaders were meeting."_

"_False village?"_

"_Set up to look and work like a real one, but really a base of operations."_

"_And the rebels?"_

"_What about them?"_

"_Why were they rebels? What were they fighting against?"_

"_A democratic system set up by the United States government. We were sent in to flush them out and kill any witnesses and rebels."_

"_I'm sorry, but I can't believe that you would be sent in to just eradicate living things," Celestia said while shaking her head._

"_Then just watch."_

"_What are these things you're on, if you don't mind me asking?"_

"_Transportation vehicles. Imagine your pony carts, except it moves by itself without the need for a living thing to be pulling it."_

"_Astounding… How do they move so fast on the ground? Pegasi can usually reach _much_ faster speeds, but not on land."_

"_Very powerful engines. A guy I knew designed the ones you'd see inside these. Anyway, just watch."_

_The caravan of vehicles came up to the village in question. With buildings made mostly of dried mud and the occasional concrete one, it seemed nothing special to Rick. When he looked over to the two ponies by him however, he saw the interest in their faces. They observed the memory version of Rick, who sat in a uniform like all the other mercenaries traveling with him._

Dressed in a black shirt, tan body armor, desert camo pants, boots, and a tan cap turned backwards, he pushed up his black sunglasses to examine the village ahead. He pressed a button on his vest and spoke into his headset, "Keep an eye out for any snipers, spotters, or lookouts. We could be under fire at any moment, so I'll say it now: Weapons free, terminate all targets, rebel or otherwise, with extreme prejudice. That includes civilians."

"_You're allowing them to kill innocent people?"_

"_Orders are orders, no matter what."_

"_You can't be serious."_

"_See how serious I can be."_

A voice came over the radio, "Sir, who exactly are the targets?"

Rick pressed down on the button, "Everyone not part of this operation. Only discriminate against your own side."

"Roger."

The group got closer to the village, forcing all of the mercenaries to search for any potential threats.

"Ok, I want Team One to head to the north entrance, Two to the west, Five to the south. Make sure no one leaves this place alive. Six circles the area, and Teams Three and Four will go in and flush out any resistance. Get into positions."

The Humvees split and took their respective spots designated by Rick.

He pressed down on the button again, "Report."

"Ready."

"In position."

"We're there."

"Good to go."

"Right by you."

He pressed again, "Then let's go."

The Humvee he was on and another one pushed through the village and began firing at anyone who wasn't wearing the same uniform as them. He jumped down from on top of the Humvee and walked to the nearest building. With a few bullets at the hinges and a kick, the door collapsed as Rick went in and began clearing the building of its occupants.

"_What are you doing?"_

"_Cleaning up."_

The memory fast-forwarded to when the execution of two rebels took place. Rick held the Panther to the eye of one and pulled the trigger. The head flew backwards along with the body as he prepared to fire a shot into the other one. Firing again, he watched the body fall back and holstered the Panther.

"Alright, get them into a house and burn everything down to the ground."

It fast-forwarded as they were leaving the village in flames, which surprisingly wasn't very hard for them once they decided to use their spare gasoline. Rick noticed something on the side of the road and told the driver to stop. Getting out, he saw a mercenary trying to grab onto a little girl. She was obviously scared and screamed louder than Rick had ever heard a child scream. He wasn't sure what this man was after, but it became obvious when he saw him trying to run his hand up her shirt.

Blood splattered the little girl's face, stopping her crying despite the obviously ear-shattering bang. She looked at Rick to see he had the Panther out with a smoking trail coming from the barrel. He grabbed a canister of gasoline and put some on the body. He looked down at it and ripped off the patch on the arm, handing it over to the little girl.

Looking down at the gas covered body, he pulled out a matchbox, "You've been demoted."

He struck the match and threw it down, setting the body on fire as he lifted the little girl into the Humvee.

_Rick gave a warm smile, "Anne."_

_Celestia turned from the memory a moment to speak, "Excuse me?"_

_"Nothing."_

The driver turned around with a look of shock, "Sir! What did you just do?"

"Nothing that concerns you, just drive us out of here."

"Isn't she considered a target Sir?"

Rick looked at the little girl, "Nothing a memory wipe and a new life in the U.S. won't fix."

The driver gave a nervous laugh, "Oh man, AlRod will be mad."

"Screw him. He isn't here taking bullets, is he?"

"Nope, but I'll keep my mouth shut if that's what you'd like."

"That's exactly what I'd like; now get us back to the hangar."

"Got it."

"_You killed one of your own men?"_

"_Yeah."_

"_And you just didn't care?"_

"_He was scum."_

"_He was planning on raping that little girl, wasn't he?"_

"_That's what I was expecting."_

"_But you were given orders to kill all residents, weren't you? By saving her, didn't you defy orders?"_

"_That was one of the very few times I did. I gave her that patch so they wouldn't try to kill her, because whoever wears one is part of the PMC. Weird customs."_

"_PMC?"_

"_Paramilitary Company. Fighters in place of actual soldiers working under a company for a country. I was given orders to help them, so I did. That little girl ended up getting adopted by a nice family in the Bronx."_

_He turned to see her smiling at him._

"_What?"_

"_You have such an odd set of principles. You tolerate murder, yet you have a sore spot against rape and abuse?"_

"_Rape is one of the things I will not tolerate. It's a disgusting perversion of war that should have never surfaced on the face of the Earth. I did the world a small favor."_

"_I hope you don't mind me asking, but what exactly makes you so against it? I abhor it obviously, but my curiosity keeps nagging me that there's something else to this."_

"_Oh there is. I'll show you if you'd like."_

"_If it's another memory, just focus on this new one."_

"_Alright, let's go."_

* * *

><p>"<em>Where are we now?"<em>

"_Outside one of New York's finest nightclubs."_

"_A nightclub? Isn't that for a more younger crowd?"_

_Rick frowned, "I was seventeen when this happened."_

"_Oh. Well what exactly is going to happen?"_

"_You see, my sister was going out to this nightclub with some guy who was older than he let on. I warned her, but she either didn't believe me or didn't care. So I followed them here. Just watch."_

A much younger Rick was waiting in line to get into the nightclub and frustration soon took over. He pushed past the people in front of him and looked at the bouncer.

_"Visual proof that I was an arrogant jerk even then. Well, it gets you places, so I'm not complaining."_

_"Where did it get you?"_

_"I'd rather not talk about this right now."_

The bouncer looked him over and stifled a laugh while trying to put on his most intimidating face and voice.

"Back of the line."

"My friend is in there."

"Really now? Who's your 'friend'?"

"Mr. Franklin."

"_God, that was so cheesy."_

"_Who's Mr. Franklin?"_

"_He was the man on the hundred dollar bill."_

"_What's a 'hundred dollar bill'?"_

"_I'll explain it later."_

Rick slipped a green piece of paper into the pocket of the bouncer. The large man took it out and actually laughed when he saw what it was.

"Okay kid, go on in. But don't tell anyone about this or your ass is mine."

The bouncer lifted the barrier and let Rick through the doors. Once inside, Rick moved to the bar and looked over the room full of people partying to find Jenine. He heard the barwoman behind him clear her throat, forcing him to turn around.

"What can I get you?"

"You're finest bottle of wine, but don't open it. I'd like to hold onto it."

She gave him a funny look and grabbed a wine bottle from behind her, setting it down in front of Rick.

"That'll be $145."

"That's it? Must not be that fine."

She chuckled, "This _is _a nightclub. Not many people order wine."

"That's a shame, seeing as though it's the best."

_Celestia smirked at Rick, "A wine taster?"_

_He smiled, "I love wine, but I didn't get the bottle to drink."_

"_Then why did you-"_

"_Ah ah ah. I'm not going to ruin it."_

Rick handed her $200, "Keep the change as a tip."

She smiled, "A $55 tip? Am I missing something here?"

"Well actually, I was wondering if you've seen someone."

"What do they look like?"

"A girl slightly older than me, 'bout 5'7", long brown hair, face kinda like mine, brown eyes, and named Jenine."

"There was someone like that here earlier with some guy, if that's who you're talking about. Tall? Shaggy hair and a beard?"

"That's that one. Do you know where they went?"

"Well, I can only keep tabs on people inside the club, but I did see them go out the door to the alley."

Rick frowned, grabbed the bottle and walked to the door, "Well, thanks for the help."

The bartender called out from behind the bar, "See you later, and enjoy that wine!"

Rick turned around and yelled, "It won't be me enjoying it!"

As he began making his way through the crowds, a drunken woman obviously older than him flung herself towards him.

"Hey baby, you wanna have a good time."

Rick sighed in frustration, "Look, I'm busy, so go find another cock to suck."

It seemed her drunkenness affected her emotions as she broke down crying. Rick was getting uneasy and intrigued looks from the crowd as he groaned.

"Would you get the hell up? I'm not up for this shit right now and you're making a scene."

Between her blubbering, she actually managed to speak some words, "M-making a sc-scene? Who the FUCK are you to say I'm making a scene?"

Another drunk, yet furious, woman ran to the others side as she hissed at Rick, "What did you do to her, you bastard? Why did you make her cry?"

Rick ran his hands down his face, "Oh my god... tell me this bullshit isn't seriously happening right now..."

Rick began walking around the women and towards the door as the needlessly loud music stopped playing. He began to get an eerie feeling as he slowly turned around, putting the bottle on the ground. His eyes widened as attempted to duck under a large fist. Unsuccessful, he dropped to the floor and put a hand to the eye that was clocked. Rick could hear the crowd "oohing", trying to provoke more violence. He groaned in pain as the same fist grabbed him by the collar of his hoodie, lifted him off the floor, and slammed him against a nearby wall. Rick took a good look at the hulking and burly man that was attacking him. He was bald, well-toned, looked like he'd been on steroids, and fairly taller than Rick himself. All in all, this was definitely going to be a challenge for Rick.

The man grunted at him, "Don't you know any manners asshole? You shouldn't talk to ladies like that."

Rick spat in his face, "Your mom loves it when I talk dirty like that to her though."

_"You insulted his mother? Why on Earth would you ever insult his mother?"_

_"It gets people mad, that's why."_

_"You don't exactly seem to be winning this fight, so why are you trying to make him mad? He's obviously capable of tearing you in half."_

_"Don't underestimate me. I may have been scrawnier then, but I knew how to handle myself in street fights."_

Rick's comment earned him a punch in the gut, effectively knocking the air out of him. The man slammed him once more against the wall and looked Rick in the eye.

"I hate little fucks like you. You think you can weasel your way through the world without any consequences for being smartasses? Well think again motherfucker!"

Rick used a "come closer" motion with his finger to the man. Slightly annoyed, but intrigued nonetheless, the massive man complied and got closer.

Rick began whispering in his ear, "Look down near the pockets of my hoodie. Do you recognize that shape? That's the shape of nine millimeter handgun aimed directly at you, and only you. Now tell me, do you honestly think you can choke or kill me before I can pull a trigger and drop your fuckin' ugly ass self to the ground with a single bullet? Because I'd be pretty impressed if you were able to."

The man narrowed his eyes suspiciously as he lowered his gaze to Rick's front hoodie pockets. They widened in terror as a hand of Rick's lay in the pocket with a very dangerous shape attached to it. It was pointed at him. And he was holding the person aiming it.

He immediately dropped Rick and backed up, "He-hey, look! Sorry, man! I- I just-"

Rick used his unoccupied hand to wave off the words, "If you're _really_ sorry, you'll apologize on your knees."

The man looked at Rick, switched to the two woman with frightened faces, then finally looked at the silent crowd waiting for something to happen. He swallowed his pride and got onto his knees, which actually made him the around the height of most people in the room.

"So what was it you were going to say?"

"I'm sorry."

"What? I can't hear you past the trigger getting pulled!"

"I'M SORRY! ALRIGHT? I'M SORRY!"

Rick chuckled, "Good, good..."

He flicked the safety on the pistol and pulled it out. The crowd gasped as some women screamed. Despite the clear danger however, everyone seemed mesmerized in place by the extremely odd series of events taking place in front of them. Rick grinned deviously at the man who began muttering prayers.

Rick pressed the handgun into the eye of the man, "God can't help you now. Only me."

"Pl-please, don't..."

"Huh? What? Maybe this'll help you speak clearer!"

Rick flicked a switch on the extended magazine, which pushed out sharp prongs from the bottom. Hegrabbed the barrel of the nine millimeter and pistol whipped the man across the face, stunning him for a few moments as the crowd gasped in disgust. Rick backed up a few steps, then moved into a swing that arced upwards, knocking the man on the chin and onto the floor backwards. Rick planted himself on the man's chest and looked him in the eye.

"Don't start shit if you can't finish it."

Rick slammed the end of the grip against the forehead of the man, not only knocking him out, but forcing him to bleed from four, fresh new holes. Rick got off of him and brushed himself off as he put the handgun back into his pocket. He looked at the crowd staring at him in awe, then saw the extremely scared women that annoyed him just a minute or two ago.

"Oh yes. How tables turn so nicely."

He walked past the crying drunks as he picked the bottle off the floor and stared at the door in front of him.

He began speaking to the women on the floor, "Sorry, I don't need your dirty pussies," he turned his head to the crowd and popped the collar of his hoodie, "because I'm on my own dick." He smiled at the crowd and walked through the door to the alley. As it closed, he began hearing whooping and cheering at his grand exit from the crowd, who clearly understood what he meant. Stepping into the alleyway, he examined his surroundings, which constituted of exactly what an alley would look like. Looking both ways, he followed some sounds towards the back of the alley. He got up against the corner's wall and leaned out slightly to get a view of what was happening.

"_What are you doing?"_

"_Making sure I'm doing my job."_

"_Your job?"_

"_Yeah. I don't have that job anymore, mostly because there was no one to do the job for."_

What he saw was the most vulgar and disgusting thing he had yet to see in his life. Farther down a dead end of the alley was the man Jenine had left with, with Jenine against a wall and on the floor. Rick gritted his teeth and put the bottle underneath the backend of his shirt and belt. He got closer until the man who had been attempting to undress Jenine had noticed him.

"What the fuck do you want kid? Huh? Get the fuck outta here before I slice your dick off."

"What did you do to that girl over there?"

The man scoffed, "Listen, kid I don't want to have to pull out m-"

"By the looks of it, and I usually know what I'm looking at, you've drugged that girl pretty well. How did you do that?"

"Wha- would you get outta here?"

Rick put his hands up, "I just wanna talk. You can talk, right? I mean, you'll probably be talking to your friends and telling them how you banged some slut, right?"

The man stared at Rick as if evaluating him, and then began laughing, "Yeah, heh, I would. Look at this dirty bitch. Lying in a dirty alley, too."

Rick chuckled and waved a finger at the man as he walked closer, "Ha, wow. That's funny because that 'dirty bitch' as you so kindly put it, _IS MY FUCKING SISTER!_"

With gritted teeth, the man backed up slightly and pulled out a pocket knife. Rick grinned at him and laughed.

"What are you going to do with that toothpick? Try and shank me?"

Flipping it open, the man smiled back, "Well, I have something and you don't, so I think I'm at the advantage here."

Rick shrugged, "You're right, I have nothing and I'm at the total disadvantage here. I'm seventeen, you're probably in your twenties. You could definitely overpower me, right?"

"Yeah, so why don't you come a little closer and we won't have to get violent?"

"Sorry, bro, my moms told me to never talk to strangers. And you are one strange, pathetic ass person."

"_PATHETIC! HOW THE FUCK AM I PATHETIC?_"

"Look at you! You need to drug girls to get with them! I don't know a single person that's done such a lowly, disgusting, _pathetic_ thing! You should honestly be ashamed to call yourself a man, because you actually need to _rape girls _to feel good about yourself? Wow. I don't have a big enough vocabulary to describe how revolting you are. But there's one word that I know that _really_ describes you: **PATHETIC**!"

"FUCK YOU, YOU LITTLE SHIT! I'M GOING TO STAB YOUR FUCKING EYES OUT!"

Taking the bait, the man rushed Rick with the knife, ready to stick it deep into his face and tear something out. Rick stood there nonchalantly as the rapist came running at him.

"_What are you doing? He's obviously going to try and murder you!"_

"_I'd like to see him try. Even back then, I knew a little thing or two about fighting. Of course, this was different because two lives were in danger here and the risks were high."_

"_I don't understand though, two lives? Because that's your sister, isn't it?"_

"_Yeah."_

"_And that's what you meant by 'job'?"_

"_She may be older than me, but we have to look out for each other. We're the only Vali's left at this point, so we need to protect ourselves against others."_

"_The only ones?"_

"_I'll get into that later."_

Rick reached behind his back for something and grabbed onto it. Right before the man came into reach; Rick ripped out the bottle and smacked it across the furious man's face, where it sent shards deep into the skin and eyes. The man fell to the floor screaming and trying to cradle his face, but was unable to when he only pushed the glass in deeper. Rick sidestepped him and walked to Jenine, careful to avoid getting any blood on his shoes.

"Okay, let's see… drugged obviously… dilated pupils, no responsiveness, almost seems clocked out completely, no cuts or bruises… at least her clothes are still on… shit, what was it? Rohypnol? Seems like that, and probably seriously strong shit too. She isn't hurt, but… I can't be too careful… I wonder if this guy has any of the stuff on him to take back to the infirmary…" Rick turned his head to where the man was lying on the floor, but found nothing but some blood spackled on the floor. "Shit," Rick got up slowly and tried to listen for any footsteps.

"Right behind you…"

Turning quickly, Rick inadvertently moved his abdomen into the man's knife. Leaning forward from the pain, he felt another painful sensation when the man thrusted the knife between Rick's ribcages. He grabbed Rick by the neck and got close to him.

"LOOK WHAT YOU DID TO MY FACE, FUCKER!"

Shards of glass were embedded in it as both blood and wine trickled down. One eye managed to survive unscathed, but the other had been too badly damaged to be even close to functional for him. He slammed Rick's head against the brick wall, stunning him for a few seconds. With his new target distracted, the rapist turned Rick around and held him in a choke hold. Rick began struggling as the grip got tighter and tighter, forcing him to flail as much as he could in an attempt to break free.

With a quick elbow to the man's kidney, Rick dropped to the floor and rolled a few feet away. Deciding on his last possible hope for coming out of this alive, Rick kneeled against the opposite wall of the alley with his hands across his abdomen. The rapist recovered from the blow and slowly moved towards Rick, falling for his act of being too injured to continue.

Right as his knife came with six inches of Rick's neck, Rick snapped the bottle across his foe's. He closed his eyes to avoid being sprayed by the blood being released from the front end of the neck, but kicked back the slowly dying man's body and away from him. Rick got up and pressed the broken bottle into the abdomen of the man, turning it and cutting through the skin.

"Pathetic."

Satisfied with his revenge, he left the bottle and went over to Jenine, who had lied there during the whole fiasco. She did have some blood on her from the fight, but she seemed to not have been hurt in the least.

Rick pressed his hand across his abdomen to see how badly it still hurt. Stinging badly, it was made worse when he realized what was in his hoodie pocket.

"I seriously didn't remember to use the goddamn gun? What the fuck is wrong with me?"

He looked back at Jenine and wondered if she'd be laughing if she saw how his bad memory put him in an even worse position.

"You're lucky you got a brother like me. Now… let's get you back home."

"_Home? Aren't you going to see a doctor or head to a hospital? I'd expect you would due to the damage those humans did to you."_

"_The Agency has excellent doctors and an amazing infirmary. It might as well be a hospital with how well-staffed it is. And they didn't hurt me _that_ bad."_

"_You're bleeding from two holes, you were punched in the stomach, and your head was slammed against a wall with enough force to crack it at least three times. Most ponies would consider that to be a very physically damaging experience."_

"_You're once again forgetting that I'm not a pony. Besides, this is nothing compared to the other injuries I've gotten. I still have these scars though… Actually, I have a lot of scars. Almost all over my body. It's amazing that my body has been able to recover so well every time."_

_Rick began running his fingers over the plentiful and varied scars all across his upper body. Celestia, taking notice, had actually taken a good enough look to see most of the faded scars and once-wounded parts of skin. Rick turned his head at her and gave a low chuckle as she stared at them._

_She put a hoof to her chin, "You've suffered a lot of abuse for your country, haven't you?"_

"_Suffered? No. Dealt with? Yes. It isn't suffering when I willingly take the pain given to me."_

"_Suffering is pain."_

"_No, suffering is when you experience pain and can't do anything about it. Pain can drive a man to incredible things under the right conditions. It's like a wakeup call for the body. A very powerful feeling."_

"_Do all humans think the same way you do?"_

"_No. Everyone thinks differently and that's what makes us great. Because we all have different viewpoints, we can all do great things in any way we want. Of course, that's only for those who want to, but the fact that people get a choice is good enough. Freedom to choose our fates. I think that sums it up well enough."_

"_There's another thing that's been bothering me from what I've seen so far."_

"_What's that?"_

"_Where are your Cutie Marks?"_

"_Our whats?"_

"_Cutie Marks." She turned her flank towards Rick to show him her Cutie Mark, "Don't humans have these?"_

"_Some humans have tattoos, but we don't have those. I'm glad too, because we're better off without it."_

"_But it's important! It tells you what your special talent is, what you love to do, and where you fit in the world. Everypony eventually gets one, because all ponies eventually discover what makes them special."_

"_I don't mean to sound harsh, but that's pathetic."_

"_Excuse me? What do you mean by 'pathetic'?"_

"_You guys need a marker to tell you where you fit in the world? You need a tattoo on your ass to make you feel special and wanted? That's just childish, and that's coming from me. Humans don't need that shit. We decide for ourselves what we do, and we live with the consequences."_

"_The same way you supposedly decided to be what you are?"_

_Rick smiled, "Well, of course, some people have to sacrifice so others can have their freedom."_

"_And were you given a choice? Did you give consent to sacrifice what you never had?"_

_Rick didn't say anything for a few moments._

"_There's always an exception to the rules of the world. I guess I'm just one of them."_

"_Yes, well, how exactly are you planning on getting out of this situation? You obviously can't carry her back due to your injuries, so how will you go to help? And won't the police arrest you for murder?"_

"_Police? They'll never know."_

"_I'm sure a dead body will be enough to alert the authorities."_

"_If they ever saw it, that is."_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_I have people to take care of messes for me."_

"_I think this is more than a simple mess, you've attracted the attention of an entire crowd, beat a human twice your size into unconsciousness, and killed another living thing!"_

"_So?"_

"_So? Is that all you can say?"_

"_It happens all the time. But just watch already, would you?"_

"_Fine, I suppose. Let's see how you manage to get out of this situation."_

Rick pulled out his cellphone and hit a few keys before putting it to his head.

"_Yo, who's this?"_

"Harris? What the hell is your ass doing with T's phone?"

"_Nigga, you called my phone!"_

"Naw, that's impossibl-" Rick checked who he was in fact calling, "Like I was saying, it's completely possible that this is a misunderstanding somehow."

"_You bet your ass it is."_

"Listen Ugly, put your brother on."

"_Why don't you just hang up and call him?"_

"I'm not going to waste the calories to press a few buttons. Just get up and get him."

"_Lazy ass nigga."_

"Yeah, yeah, just hurry up."

There was some commotion heard on the phone right before a deeper voice began speaking, _"Yo, what's poppin' Rick? Whaddya need?"_

"T, I need a ride from Sensations to my place. Well, Jenine and me."

"_The fuck are you doing there? That ain't your kinda place."_

"I'll explain it later. Oh and I'm bleeding, so grab some garbage bags for your seats or something. And hurry up too."

"_I can only imagine what dumb shit you got yourself into. And your ass better not get any blood in my car, I just got this shit."_

"Scout's Honor, bro."

"_Nigga, you were _never_ a scout."_

"Street scout."

"_Heh, yeah, that's what I'm talkin' about. Ight, ight, I'll be there in lil' bit, just sit or something."_

"Ight, get here. Oh, and hurry for that one guy AlRod shows up."

"_The agent?"_

"He'll annoy my ass about this kind of shit for I don't know how long if he finds out I was here."

"_I'm on my way."_

Rick pressed a button and put the phone back into his pocket.

"_Who were you talking to?"_

"_I was using a phone."_

"_A what?"_

"_A phone. It's this thing that lets you talk with other people."_

"_Really? We use letters."_

"_This lets you talk in real time though."_

"_Interesting."_

"_How about we go to another place? There's something I want to see again."_

"_Just think about it."_

* * *

><p>"<em>This place is… odd."<em>

"_It's a room in the Agency's Brooklyn compound. I like it."_

"_But the lighting is so uneasy, and most of the room is empty besides the couches and chairs against the walls."_

"_But there's that right there," Rick pointed to a piano where two people were sitting._

"_Who are they?"_

"_I think you'll recognize one of them."_

_Celestia looked closer at the man sitting down, "That's you? Not as young as before, but," She looked at Rick, "younger than you are now?"_

"_Exactly. And that would just so happen to be the woman I told you about a few weeks ago."_

"_I'm sorry, I don't remember her name."_

"_That's fine. I try not to think about her."_

"_Then why are we here?"_

"_To find something."_

"_What?"_

"_A clue."_

"_I'm sorry, but I'm not following."_

"_I'll explain later, mostly because now's not the best time to talk about it. Listen to this."_

The man, who was sitting on the piano seat, began hitting a few keys. The woman looked over to him and sat down, watching him as he idled around. Suddenly, the room began shaking, but neither of them reacted.

"_What the hell is this? I don't remember there being an earthquake!"_

"_Something must be happening to your body! Whatever it is, it's shaking you in your sleep!"_

"_Who would be shaking me while I'm asleep? That doesn't make sense!"_

_Darkness crept over their eyesight as the flashback ended by interruption, waking them up.  
><em>

* * *

><p>"Hello? Are you alright?"<p>

Luna nudged the unconscious man lying against the wall, getting no response whatsoever. She looked to Twilight, who was still watching over Celestia, who was lying in bed.

Luna called out, "Twilight, what exactly did they say they were doing?"

"I'm sorry Princess, they really didn't include me in the conversation. Rick did want to look back at a previous memory-"

"Previous memory? Why would he show her his old memories?"

Princess Luna turned back to Rick before Twilight could respond. Quickly realizing how rude it was of her to do such a thing, she turned around again. Seeing Twilight's attention focused solely on Celestia, she shrugged it off and noticed that Rick's face changed from when she looked previously. A warm smile replaced an earlier face of slight sadness, making Luna wonder what exactly they were seeing. An idea popped into her head on how she would wake Rick up.

She frowned, muttering to herself, "That wouldn't be a very nice thing to do to somepony who's sleeping, but... he's not a pony..."

She looked around to see if anyone was watching and placed her left hoof on Rick's chest. Nervous, she looked back again at Twilight, who hadn't moved. Slowly at first, she began rocking him back and forth, until she suddenly began putting more than the necessary amount of force into her pushing. Eventually, Rick's head shot up as he began looking in random directions. He'd obviously been fazed by Luna's earthquake to the point he didn't know where he was exactly.

Rick, startled by the unwanted awakening, began tumbling around and mumbling incoherently. He tried getting up, but immediately fell over on the floor and onto his face. He stayed there for a moment as the blood rushed back to his legs, which he hadn't realized had fell asleep with him. Looking around from the floor, he saw two sets of four hooves standing in front of his face. One set was connected to purple legs while the other had shoes on and were connected to blue legs. One head leaned down to his face with a look of worry.

A headache began setting in as he mumbled from the floor, "I wasn't ready for that..."

* * *

><p>This chapter got cut short also (because 10k+ words is short, which reminds me that I should make shorter chapters from now on). The rest got pushed into another document with a unnecessarily long title. But, it made me decide on what's going to happen with Stasis. It won't be three parts, most likely this one and then a second which will have chapters (in most likely threes) that switch protagonists between humans and ponies that Rick at one point runs into, or not. Also, to clarify, Rick isn't the protagonist, Eric is. It should be pretty obvious who <em>that<em> is.

When I finish this part of Stasis, I'm going to go through it and try to fix every spelling and text mistake I can find. It's been bugging me when I see them, but I'm too damn lazy to actually do it. But really, I realize now that if I actually got someone to proofread my work instead of myself I wouldn't have this problem at all. Too late now, I guess.

There's really not much to say here other than this chapter should have been out earlier. I can't remember why I didn't release it earlier, because it's been sitting around for a few days while I just pressed buttons and kept adding to it, which is why it got cut short in the first place. Anyway, enjoy this chapter and whoever understands or recognizes the quote Rick said after the bar fight is straight gangsta.

As always, Stay Trilla.

Also, on the next episode of STASIS Z, we see Rick experience head pain. For only a minute though.


	16. Chapter 16

**Stasis**

**Chapter 16: Theories on Cross-Universal Relationships, Mental Diseases, Societal Norms, Physical Anomalies, Political Antics and Armageddon**

**By: Stillmatic**

* * *

><p>"Are you okay? I think you might have fallen asleep."<p>

"Huh…"

"Excuse me?"

"Wha- What the hell happened?"

Rick stood up, slightly off balance and drowsy. He looked around the room to find it hadn't changed at all, minus the addition of a royal figure to the room.

"Luna? Did you just do that?"

"Wake you up? Yes, that was me."

"No, someone shook me until I woke up. That just made the flashback look like we were sitting inside a fault line."

"Oh… Well, I may have been a little… aggressive? I apologize; it's just that the sounds and faces you were making were completely unnerving."

"Noises? What are you talking about?"

Rick's attention shifted to Twilight, who was giving a calculating look to him.

"You were mumbling in your sleep and making faces like you were doing something bad."

"Bad? Huh. Well, this is fun and all, but where's Celestia?"

Twilight's face went from observation to surprise when he said her name like that. She tested to see if he would react to her words.

"You mean _Princess_ Celestia?"

"Who else would I be talking about? Because I don't call her 'Princess', you're going to make a big deal about it?"

"No! It's just that… You aren't exactly on good terms with her, so why are you calling her _just_ that? I'm sure if you'd show more respect for her and after a long friendship, you might get to the level where you can call her just by her name."

"How about no? You're some kind of teacher's pet, aren't you?"

"Well, the Princess _is_ my teacher and mentor, and even _I_ haven't gotten to the level where I can call her by just her name."

"You know, that's kind of funny. You love your mentor and she lives forever, while I killed my mentor and took his place. Maybe you'll do that too one day."

Twilight gasped at the very thought, "I would _never_ do something like that!"

Rick rubbed his chin in thought for a moment, "Okay, let's say hypothetically you could only have one Princess alive. Who would it be?"

Luna, who had been watching the entire conversation unfold, had her interest piqued when she heard that. She looked around and saw that her sister was still on the bed, tired from whatever it was she was doing earlier. Luna thought about what Twilight would say in this position. She knew that Twilight _loved_ Celestia, but she wouldn't want to insult the other Princess either. This would make for an interesting conversation.

"W-Well, I suppose if-" Twilight looked at Princess Luna, who only gave a innocent smile. "I'm sure th-that- What I mean is-"

Rick, with a smile and mocking tone, cut her off "That you'd rather save Celestia than Luna?" He sidestepped to Luna, knelt down by her, and stared at Twilight, "Did you hear that Luna? Twilight couldn't give a damn about you. But don't worry, I still care about you." Rick, while stroking Luna's mane, gave a devious grin to Twilight, who was completely caught off guard by the accusation.

"That's not tr-"

"Hey! What's been said has been said. You cruel monster."

Suppressing his laughter, Rick looked down at Luna, who caught onto his game.

She turned her head and began whispering into his ear, "You know, you shouldn't play games with her like that."

"But games are fun."

"That may be, but she's young. She doesn't have a grasp of the world like we do."

"Grasp of the wor- What? You've been on the Moon for a thousand years, what kind of grasp did you get?"

"You learn quite a lot of things evading Nightmare Moon for a millennia."

"Must have been real fun. Now, would you like to come along?"

"Excuse me?"

"Do you want to come with us?"

"Us?"

"Your sister and me."

"Where?"

Rick pointed out the window in a dramatic pose, "TO THE PAST!"

"The past? Why are we going back in time?"

"So I can find something that's been eluding me for years. The next part in a puzzle that's never been solved. But with the help of 'magic', I should be able to go to that point in time when the puzzle was created and grab the most important piece."

Someone began speaking from behind him, "Yes, well, we'd better be off soon, before another earthquake hits."

Princess Celestia, just waking up, got off the bed and walked over to the group. Luna put a hoof to her mouth in an attempt to stifle her giggling at Celestia's completely frizzed out mane.

Unsure of what was wrong, she began turning to different members of the group, "What? _What?_ What's so funny?"

Luna covered her eyes for a moment and stopped, "Your mane! It's hideous!" She removed her hooves and started laughing again when she saw Celestia's mane.

"Oh. Well, nothing some magic can't fix."

The mane fixed itself quickly as if an invisible brush were going through it. When Luna stopped laughing, Celestia nodded approvingly and turned to Rick.

"So, I assume you'd like to go to where we left off?"

"If you'd like, we can skip all that stuff during that memory and just get to the end."

"Were you about to play that piano?"

"Yes."

"Then I'd rather listen."

"Are you sure? I'm not exactly great on the piano. At least, not as much as I used to be."

"It's just for observation, so there's nothing to be afraid of."

"Afraid? I could start an argument about that right now, but I think I'll just let you off with a warning."

She laughed, "Of course, of course. Now, are they coming?"

"Well, nothing bad is going to happen during the memory like the other ones, so it's probably fine."

Luna shook her head, "Wait, where exactly are we going?"

Rick repeated his dramatic pointing at the sky again, "TO MY WORLD!"

"Really? What's you world-"

Twilight, who was more than eager to see another world, ran up to Princess Celestia and looked up to her, "Princess, would it be alright if I came along?"

Before she could respond, Luna moved between them, "Twilight, I'm sure it would be fine if you came along. Rick doesn't seem to have a problem with it."

Rick nodded, "I'm okay with this as long as you don't start asking too many questions."

Celestia gave a worried glance to him, "Are you sure there's nothing gruesome or disgusting, or vulgar with this one?"

"Positive. It may be a bit saucy, but I'm sure you all can handle it."

"I suppose it's fine… Well, unless you want to hit your head, I recommend all of you sit down somewhere."

Celestia lied back down on the bed with Twilight following her, while Rick sat on the floor again. Considering it awkward to be in the same bed with her sister's student, Luna sat next to Rick, who seemed to be extremely uncomfortable with his hands behind his back.

He leaned to Luna, "Mind giving me a hand?"

"You want me to break you out of your hoofcuffs?"

"Yeah, they're pretty uncomfortable."

Unsure, but willing to help, Luna let out a stream of dark-colored magic to the locking mechanism of the cuffs. It scurried back into her horn when she unlocked them, which quickly opened for Rick. He sighed while rubbing his wrists and put his arm over Luna.

"Thanks for that."

"My pleasure."

Before they could continue, Celestia casted the spell, putting all four of them to sleep.

* * *

><p>Rick began hitting random keys on the piano as Selene sat next to him, watching him play for a minute before trying it herself. They both began hitting keys and laughed when they eventually both hit the same one.<p>

_Rick gave a wary glance around the room, "Hopefully, there won't be any seismic activity this time."_

_Luna pouted, "Really, how was I supposed to know that you and Celery were revisiting past experiences? It's really quite an odd thing to do when you consider it."_

"_First off, Celery? Second, I have a reason to look back. I just need to confirm what I think I remember hearing back then."_

_Celestia sighed, "Please, if you two are done foaling around, I'd like to hear this."_

_Luna turned back to Rick, "Hear what?"_

"_Yours truly live in concert at the Brooklyn Amphitheatre."_

_Her face lit up, "Really?"_

"_No, but I _was_ playing a piano with one other person in an empty room."_

"_You play the piano?"_

"_My father taught me. Watch and see."_

Selene kissed him as he began playing the music to a song they both knew. She listened at first, taking in the music. When he finished, he stood up and bowed dramatically as she clapped and pretended to faun over him. They both began laughing again as she sat down and began playing a different song.

"You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd think that you're trying to up-show me."

She smiled, "I would never even consider the idea, baby."

"Suuuuurrree. You wouldn't mind if I joined in, would you?"

"If you think you can keep up."

"Oh, I think I can keep up pretty well."

Starting another song, they both began playing a duet. Starting out fast, Rick was keeping pace with Selene as she played a short song. After a minute of playing, they reached the apex as the song began slowing down significantly. While it slowed down, Rick looked to Selene, who finished the song with a smile.

He smirked at her, "Oh, bravo, bravo. A true masterpiece."

"Oh shut up, you're just mad because I'm better than you."

Feigning hurt feelings, Rick pretended to be astonished, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! I- I can't believe you said that!"

She looked him square in eyes, "Truth hurts, doesn't it?"

"Oh yeah, it hurts. Hey, did you notice that we seem to play only really short songs together?"

"Do we? I didn't notice."

"Huh. Coincidence probably."

Selene began hitting the same key over and over, with Rick following suit as she began hitting the key next to it, working her way left. Eventually, they both closed the gap, and when they reached each other Selene grabbed Rick's collar and pulled him in for a kiss.

When they broke off, Rick chuckled, "What was _that_ for?"

She pouted, "Are you complaining?"

"Absolutely not," Rick looked around the room, "and we're alone too."

Obviously knowing where he was going, Selene faked indifference, "So?"

"What do two adults do when they're in a dark room by themselves after making beautiful music?"

"Make beautiful music?"

Rick smiled, "Exactly."

He placed his hand on her thigh and began running it up to her lap. It slipped under her skirt as she moved hers over his crotch. Right as Rick was nearing what he wanted, she squeezed down on his crotch, forcing him to recoil as she began laughing.

"What's wrong? I thought you were tough."

"Cheap, cheap, cheap. You knew exactly how to rip one of those off if you wanted to."

"It's not cheap, it's strategy!"

"Yes, describing sex techniques as strategy makes it all the more romantic."

"Well, according to that thing in your pants, you aren't really complaining."

"Well, that thin-"

She put her index finger to his mouth, "Shh."

She got up as Rick turned around his seat. She pushed him back against the piano as she got on top and straddled him. He ran a hand up through her black hair while the other rested on her thigh.

"I like where this is going."

"Didn't I say 'shh'?"

She moved in for a kiss but was met with nothing.

Rick looked around for a moment, "Did you hear something?"

She sighed with slight frustration, "No, but how about you hear what I have to say? Be quiet."

Rick began chuckling before being cut off by another kiss. Selene unbuttoned and unzipped his pants as she ran a hand down them. Rick planted both of his hands on her ass, catching her off guard.

"You know I hate it when you do that."

"So you say. But according to that thing under your skirt, you aren't really complaining."

"Oh shut up."

_Rick sighed, "Such an amazing woman."_

_Celestia looked the scene, which wasn't exactly something a princess should be looking at, over with intrigue, "This is the one you were going to marry? She looks beautiful."_

"_Yeah… Smartest woman I ever met, best looking, and really fun to be around. You know, it wasn't easy getting her to give me a chance."_

"_Oh? A charmer like you?"_

_Rick frowned, "I'm serious, it took a lot of work on my part to win her over. She had a good amount of bad boyfriends, and that made it pretty hard to convince her I had good intentions."_

"_Bad boyfriends? As in she kept having relationships like that more than once?"_

"_When someone gets hurt enough by one thing, and they don't know anything else, they stick with what hurt them. For her, she just kept getting into abusive relationships."_

"_She purposely stayed in them? Why would she ever do that?"_

"_Like I said, what you know makes you think you can get comfort from it. She never really found it, at least, until me that is."_

"_You? What did you do that actually pulled her away from that?"_

"_Let's just say after she shot me down a few times, I did some investigative work into how she suddenly got a black eye one day. And let's also just say that the guy that gave her that black eye ended up with one himself, an arm cast, and a mouth wired shut. She called me a monster for doing that. She said she could handle her personal life herself, but we both knew that was a lie. She needed someone to care and look out for her, and who better for that than me? I apologized af-"_

"_Wait! _You_ apologized?"_

_Rick looked at Celestia's shocked face with slight scorn, "Yeah, you have something to say about that?"_

_She smiled at his defensiveness, "Oh no, of course not. Please, continue."_

"_So I apologized the next day. She told me that it was her that owed _me_ one. I actually began laughing at how this was turning out and she got pretty annoyed. So, I explained to her how I thought she would hate me for doing what I did. You know, butting into her personal life and attacking her ex-boyfriend."_

"_And she didn't?"_

"_No. She actually told me that it was one of the most caring things any guy had ever done for her. I'm not sure if she was trying to make me feel good, but she said that she was glad I did what I did. I asked her out again that same day, and we'd been going out ever since."_

"_That's touching. I honestly wouldn't have expected this from you."_

"_From me? You don't even know me well enough to say that."_

"_That may be so, but one can assume on another's past actions given their current ones. And those aren't exactly thought well of by anypony."_

"_Well, watch and learn something about me."_

Laying Rick back farther, Selene pushed him against the keys, hitting them at random. While they began working at each other, neither noticed the spectator who had entered the room. After a few moments, the spectator began clapping, drawing their attention to him.

Rick grunted in disgust, "AlRod. What a cock-block."

Selene put their foreheads together as she began whispering, "Now? Here? How much did he see?"

"Let's find out."

Selene got off of Rick as he got up, zipping up his pants in the process. Walking over to the man in obviously _very_ expensive suit, he put on his most fake and sincere face.

"Congressman, how _fine_ of you to visit us."

Holding back laughter, the Congressman spoke in his signature "Hispanic" accent.

"Oh, hello Rick," he nodded at the woman, "Selene."

She reached a hand out, "Hi, I don't think we've been properly introduced before. But… you already seem to know my name."

The man shook her hand, "Ah yes, Rick does talk quite a lot about you. He never stops with all his talking about you. That's young love and all that, I suppose. Rick, would you mind coming with me for a moment? There's something I need to discuss."

Rick looked back at Selene, "I'll be back, just wait here for a minute."

Selene nodded and tapped her wrist as if it were a watch.

The Congressman burst into laughter while waving his hands in front of him, "I- I'm sorry! It- it's just that- that, oh never mind! Please, come with me Rick before I say something embarrassing!"

Rick followed the suited man out of the room. He gave a look to Selene before closing the door and turning to face the Congressman.

"So… Congressman Rodriguez, what is it exactly that you need from me? You really picked a great time to pop in by the way. Grade A timing."

"I apologize for sneaking up on you two, but I was just here to tell you that for your team's outstanding performance on that earlier mission, we're going to allow you to throw together a little 'gathering'."

"And by 'gathering', I assume you're talking about a party?"

"Yes and what I'd like you to do is to make sure that everyone enjoys themselves. And invite some of the bureaucrats, would you? They like to think they're pretty important too, you know."

"Doesn't everyone? Anyway… when and where exactly?"

"That's for you to decide. I'm only here to deliver the message."

"That's what's been bothering me, why _you_? Why didn't someone who actually _works_ in the Agency tell me about this? You are a Congressman, but I don't think you're really supposed to be passing on messages between agents when you're supposed to be giving tax breaks or something."

"Please, Rick, don't tell me how to do my job. I _despise _when people do that."

"Fine, fine. Now, if that's everything, I have something to take care of."

AlRod laughed and pointed to Rick's pants, "Yes, I can see that. I didn't know I had that effect on you."

Rick grunted and went back into the room, "What a creep."

_Celestia tapped Rick, who was zoned out at this point, on the shoulder with her hoof, "I hope you don't mind me asking, but who was that human? I felt like there was something odd about him."_

"_Huh? Oh you mean AlRod."_

"_AlRod?"_

"_Senator of New Jersey, Alejandro Rodriguez. Called AlRod by his constituents, friends in the government, and just about anyone else that knows him. He was an agent at one point, and I'm pretty sure he was the guy I was talking about a few weeks ago that I said earned his freedom and chose to work as a Congressman in return. Lucky bastard. He's really goddamn annoying too. Always weaseling his way around in our business, trying to relive the glory days or something. Hope a Commune Agent strangles him in his sleep or something."_

"_How could you say that?"_

_Both Rick and Celestia turned around to see Luna staring at Rick incredulously. Both Twilight and her had remained silent up until this point, where Luna had supposedly been shocked to hear Rick say something like that._

He shrugged, "_I hate him, that's why."_

"_So you want him dead because you don't like him? How does that make sense?"_

"_Makes perfect sense on Earth."_

"_Earth is not like _that_!"_

_Rick narrowed his eyes, "And how would you know that?"_

"_Because we live on Earth perhaps?"_

"_What? No you don't, _I_ live on Earth."_

"_I believe you're mistaken, because the planet that Equestria lies in is called Earth."_

"_That's impossible, and doesn't make sense."_

_Twilight, hearing both sides of the argument, considered something, "But what if we're really from two different planets called 'Earth'? You already speak our language, so wouldn't it be expected that we'd also share the same names for planets?"_

_Rick thought it over, "What exactly is the name of your language?"_

_Twilight responded quickly, "Equine."_

_Rick gave a deadpan face and muttered, "Figures… Wait a second," Rick looked back at Luna, "Why were you surprised I would say that?"_

_She wasn't prepared for that question, "It's just th-"_

"_I mean, you heard the story about what I did at Shepherd's Island, so how does me wanting someone dead surprise you?"_

"_If you'd give me a mo-"_

"_I think I understand. You probably couldn't care less."_

"_Would you just let me ta-"_

"_Because I _know_ that something else is bothering you instead. You're just trying to hide it, right?"_

"_How did-"_

"_Intuition, guessing, I don't know. So what's _really_ upsetting you?"_

_She didn't bother responding and instead looked down. _

_Celestia tapped Rick on the shoulder again, "Please don't prod into this. If you'd like, we can discuss it later along with all the other things regarding these little trips."_

"_Fine. But you wouldn't happen to know why she's acting like that, would you?_

"_It probably wasn't the comment about that human being strangled. If I wasn't surprised, she probably wouldn't be either. If you'd like, ask her now."_

"_Weren't you just telling me not to prod into it?"_

"_I thought it over again."_

"_That quick?"_

"_Are you going to find out or not? I don't want to be here all day watching two humans having relations."_

"_Jealous?"_

_She scoffed while walking away from Rick and towards Twilight. Taking the chance, he made his way to Luna, who tried her best to not look him in the face._

"_So, what is it you're feeling right now?"_

_Luna's eyes made their way to Rick's, but she looked back at the floor once they connected._

"_I'm not sure."_

"_That's it? You're not sure?"_

"_What else can I say?"_

"_I don't know, how about you try to explain it instead of naming it?"_

"_It's just seems that- No, it _is_ something a bit too personal to discuss."_

"_Personal how? For you or me?"_

"_For _both_ of us!"_

"_Both? If it's personal for both of us, it _isn't_ personal between us. At least, that's how it should be."_

"_You'd think that, but I don't want to cause any harm with what I might say."_

"_What you might say? And what exactly might you say to me that could cause any harm? I mean, I've been insulted by different people in a lot of ways, so I can handle criticism pretty well."_

"_I don't want to insult you and it isn't criticism… almost the opposite of it."_

"_And by opposite, you mean? Not praise, because that seems unfitting and unnecessary."_

"_No, it isn't praise. It's kind of like…"_

"_Appeal?"_

_Her head quickly turned to the direction of Rick, "What?"_

"_So that's a no? I don't appeal to you?"_

"_N-no! It's not that you don't, it just isn't the word I was going to use!"_

"_You didn't really have a word to use."_

_She was about to argue that, but stopped herself short._

"_Seeing this," she pointed to the flashback with her hoof, "wasn't exactly pleasant."_

"_Well, it was a little R-rated, but it didn't seem like anything you couldn't handle."_

"_It wasn't because of how sensual it was, it was the fact that it _was_ sensual. I felt sort of... jealous? I'm not too sure... For some reason, when I first saw you, I never thought of seeing you in a relationship with another creature."_

"_When you first saw me, you were so afraid that you killed me."_

"_So you did die! Then how are you alive?"_

"_Science. Anyway, back onto topic. You were really afraid, weren't you?"_

"_Yes… But it was uncalled for assumption, for the most part. You did save me from Nightmare Moon, and the extensive damage you managed to inflict on her and her minion was astounding, but in the back of my mind, something told me not to give you the chance to even touch me. Despite what you had done, intentional or otherwise, I couldn't help but _not_ trust you. When you broke Nightmare Moon's horn, I was horrified to the point where I thought you were going to do the same to me. What you did was something so fear-inducing and horrific, that anypony with a horn would immediately run away from you. Pegasi would be deathly afraid of how you destroyed her wings to the point of them being unusable. Despite her injuries however, she managed a full recovery, and not only that, but a growing respect for you. She respects nopony. The only beings to ever defeat her were my sister and her Elements on separate occasions, and that was with _magic._ You used brute force and a blunt object. I'd assume that was a complete change in battle for her, and for whatever reason, that switch and the creature that brought it about must have triggered something. She switched from being the pony who would attack, to the one who was being attacked with her life in danger. I remember seeing you letting her free to run away from the battle, and it seemed amazing that somepony would do such a thing after freely attacking when a fight could have been avoided. I thought at first you had interrupted the battle between us to possibly save me, but when you completely tore apart that Nightmare, it seemed like the only thing you cared about was killing whatever was in front of you. It was frightening to even consider that I was in proximity of such a creature. So I took initiative that I wasn't even sure was necessary. I killed you… But I've been wondering every night since then only one thing."_

"_What's that?"_

"_Would you have killed me?"_

_Rick stared at her for a few moments, "No. Why would I kill you if I didn't kill Moon?"_

"_You killed her minion though."_

"_That thing looked disgusting, scary, and freakish."_

"_That doesn't mean it didn't have feelings though! It could have been just as afraid of you as you were of it!"_

"_It was cocky and confident enough to tackle me to the floor and try to kill me. It didn't know I have the uncanny ability to not get killed. At least, that was until you came along. The point is, that thing attacked me first, and it should have known what it was getting into. I hated how it assumed I was just going to shout and cry like some little bitch. I won't be underestimated by some freak of nature. That thing looked like an evolved version of what I saw on Shepherd's Island, which was the weird thing. It might have been completely coincidental, but it resurfaced bad memories and an adrenaline rush that helped me just _destroy_ it!"_

"_You didn't need to destroy it though! You could have forced it to surrender!"_

"_If I did that, I would have been impaled as soon as I turned my back. You don't understand Luna, this thing was thinking like a predator, and a predator as good as that _doesn't_ give up on a quarry. Kill or be killed, Luna, that's the main rule of the game. Listen, we're getting off track here, let's get back to what we were talking about."_

"_Yes, you're right. What I'd like to know is how did Nightmare Moon suddenly change how she felt about you? It doesn't make sense! You were enemies in battle, and then you become partners? How is that possible? You two should hate each other! Why do you stay together if you've hurt each other so much?"_

"_You're right, we _were_ enemies. According to her, she'd been watching me and everything I'd done since we met under better circumstances. I asked her about why she was willing to put what I did behind her, and she told me that it was because I actually impressed her. She liked the fact that I was completely disregarding everything in my way minus a few exceptions. She said she never met someone that was willing to do as they pleased, whenever the please. A breath of fresh air, I guess… I'll be honest, when I saw you two fighting, I thought I was going insane. It didn't make sense for there to be ponies on the Moon, so I didn't really consider that my actions might have consequences. Apparently, one consequence was becoming the focus of Moon's mind. I was watching both of you for a little bit, seeing everything you were doing to each other. You were obviously going to get overwhelmed, but you held your ground and fought. That was pretty damn courageous, if you ask me. But the way you guys looked… It was something else. Seeing Moon was like looking at the sky on a clear night. You were like that crescent Moon in front of a sky with no stars. Does that make sense? That's what came to mind when I first saw both of you. You both looked pretty beautiful, but I saw you two differently. She seemed more mature and able. You gave me the feeling that you were trying to prove something. You needed help. So I gave it to you."_

_Luna hoofed the ground, "I didn't need help…"_

"_Yeah, you did. There's nothing wrong with accepting help. For me there is, but there's a completely different reason as to why. The thing is, me helping you reminded me of how I helped Selene."_

"_The mare you were with on your planet?"_

"_She wasn't a mare, she was a woman. A fine woman at that, but I'm getting off track again. I helped her fight her fears by attacking them head on. I saw how badly she'd been hurt and I would _not_ let the person that did that get away with it. She tried to be strong, but all I could see was this vulnerable woman who wasn't able to properly defend herself. So, I would be her strength. I would be the one she could rely on. I would protect her from the dangers of the world… When I saw you, I saw her. Hurt, brought down, and so vulnerable it pulled at my heart. In some ways, I did for you what I did for her."_

"_Do you really think we're alike?"_

"_Yeah. I think all three of you are so much alike that it isn't even funny."_

"_All three of us? You mean Nightmare Moon too?"_

"_Yeah, she really does remind me of Selene."_

"_Selene… What does that name mean?"_

"_Hell if I know. She's Italian, so I'm guessing the name's Italian too."_

"_I'm sorry, what's an 'Italian'?"_

"_A person from or has ancestors from the country of Italy. Neither of us were born there, but we're still Italian. Italian-American actually."_

"_Interesting… What was it that made her so special?"_

"_Selene? What didn't make her special? She worked at the Agency as a data manager. She controlled the flow of information to the public for the most part, so it wouldn't be unlikely for her to know her fair share of the government's secrets. She was smart, looked amazing, had a good sense of humor, and was really friendly. I can't really describe her that well, she was just the kind of person you had to know. Anyway, there are a lot of things I could say that made her special, but what really interested me was her passion. Once she liked or believed in something, she'd stick with it. Such an amazing woman… It's more than just a shame to think she was just murdered for no reason. I still ask myself why anyone would want to do that... Why would anyone attack her? Why?"_

"_I- I don't know."_

"_No one does. But we will soon."_

"_How?"_

"_Your magic will help me identify who it was that murdered her."_

"_Our magic? Our magic can't identify a creature without knowing that creature."_

"_We'll use our eyes. We're going to go back to when I walked into that room, and we're going to look at the man who murdered Selene."_

"_I thought you said that you saw your own face when you were in there?"_

"_I did. But I could have been hallucinating, or it might have been a trick."_

"_A trick? How could someone use your face for a trick?"_

"_Science is tricky business, and the things we thought were impossible are always becoming a reality. Maybe it was a mask or something, I don't know." _

"_Do you really think that?"_

"_Do you have another explanation?"_

"_Well… according to my information, you've been suffering from mental problems."_

"_Your information? Where the hell did you get that?"_

"_Is it true?"_

"_To a point."_

"_Did… did you ever consider it was you that killed her?"_

_Rick stared at her for a moment, right before he began flipping out, "WHAT? HOW THE _FUCK_ CAN YOU IMPLY THAT!"_

"_It just seems that you weren't prepared for what happened that day!"_

"_OF COURSE I WASN'T! ALL THE PEOPLE I CONSIDERED CLOSE TO ME WERE _KILLED_!"_

"_Exactly! You were already suffering from that, so you must have already begun to experience detrimental effects on your psyche at that point, right?"_

"_I. NEVER. KILLED. SELENE!"_

"_But how do you know that? You could have had a hallucination where you thought all that happened, when in fact you might have killed her and then attempted suicide! It's really something to consider."_

_Rick's heavy breathing slowly subsided along with his anger. Luna gave him a chance to collect himself as he began staring at her._

"_I would never do something like that. I don't kill the people I keep close to me."_

"_That's not true."_

"_And how the hell would you know?"_

"_You killed your mentor when you were on that island."_

"_I mercy killed him! He would have died either way, but we at least gave him the dignity to die as a human!"_

"_Does that really make it right? You still killed someone you looked up to."_

"_I did him justice an-"_

"_No, you didn't! You still don't even know why you did what you did on that island in the first place! You're just trying to hide the fact that you have killed your loved ones with false patriotism and a sense of duty!"_

"_I'm not hiding anything!"_

"_You're lying!"_

"_How would you know? You haven't communicated with a living thing in over a thousand years!"_

"_That doesn't mean I can't see the obvious! Admit it! You're lying!"_

"_I am not lying! Stop implying that I need to lie to live with myself!"_

"_Take it from me; we all try to hide the things we've done. You think just because I'm a pony that I don't know anything about how bad the world can be, or what a damaged mind can do. I know that all too well and you aren't giving me the credit for it!"_

_Rick stopped and stared at Luna for a minute before doing anything. The deep scowl he had slowly curled up to a grin as he began laughing insanely. Luna, frightened by the sudden change of emotion, backed up a little. _

_Rick began speaking once his laughter died down, "You're right, I don't give you enough credit. Luna, you are surprisingly human in all regards. It actually hurts to look at you because of how much you remind me of her. She was my moral compass once. And here you come, telling me that I've done wrong. It's really funny. Really funny…"_

"_I hope you didn't take any of that the wrong way."_

"_No, you were absolutely right. I've been hiding behind the lies for so long that it became my existence. You showed me that, sorta. And now I know what I have to do to fix that."_

"_What?"_

"_Leave the Agency."_

"_How are you going to do that?"_

"_I'll just have to change my status from 'Active' to 'K.I.A.' It's going to be next to impossible, but at least now I know what I have to do."_

"_Is it going to be dangerous?"_

"_Oh yeah. I'll have to kill anyone that gets in my way. Leave no witnesses."_

"_Will more bodies really fix the problem?"_

"_I don't know. I'm tired of fighting for others. I'm tired of being a dog of war. I'm tired of putting my life on the line for reasons I don't understand. All I know is that once that's changed, I'll be free."_

"_I can't believe that you'd be willing to do that."_

"_Why?"_

"_Because you always talk about how it's your duty to your country and your family. You seemed so stuck with those ideas that you couldn't possibly betray them."_

"_I talk, that's what I do. But things have changed. So I ask you Luna, do you really think I was hallucinating, or does your lack of knowledge regarding scientific espionage have a yearning to be fulfilled?"_

"_Excuse me?"_

"_Let's make a bet."_

"_A bet?" She narrowed her eyes, "What kind of bet?"_

"_A simple one. If I prove that I wasn't hallucinating, you have to apologize. If you prove I was, well you'll just have to choose that term."_

"_In other words, if I win, you have to do anything, and if you win all I have to do is apologize?"_

"_Exactly. Now what's your motivation to win?"_

"_If I win… you have to stop seeing Nightmare Moon."_

_Rick frowned, "Higher stakes than I hoped for… but I have faith that I won't lose. And just so you know, degradation of my psyche didn't come until after I attempted suicide."_

_She shook her head, "What? How could you possibly know that?"_

_He smirked, "Medical science is pretty advanced on Earth, isn't it?"_

"_And what is that supposed to mean?"_

"_We can see problems invisible to the naked eye. We have the technology capable of so much, and we're only making more advances every day." Rick looked around, "Anyway, let's get to your sister and see if I can't prove my sanity at one point in my life."_

_As he began walking, he noticed that Luna wasn't following and instead staring at the floor. He sighed and knelt by her._

"_What's wrong?"_

"_Do you think she heard all of our yelling?"_

"_You mean my yelling? Probably."_

"_Isn't that going to be awkward?"_

"_Probably."_

"_Is that all you're going to say?"_

"_Most likely."_

_She groaned and began walking away before Rick stopped her._

"_Listen, when things get weird and awkward, the best thing you can do is act like it was nothing. Take them by surprise, show your maturity and take what happens in stride. Don't let an odd look or something like that bother you."_

"_I tend to get plenty of odd looks on my own…"_

"_And why's that?"_

"_Because I was Nightmare Moon, maybe?"_

"_So?"_

"_So? What do you mean 'so'? Ponies were so afraid of me that they didn't dare cross me. That fear carried over when I was released and almost overthrew my sister! They still fear me!"_

_With Luna's head down, Rick began to notice the quiet sobs and tears falling. Even he was starting to feel like he'd been put in an awkward position now._

"_Luna, put your past behind you already."_

"_W-what? How can you of all ponies say that?"_

"_You're forgetting that I'm not a pony. I'm also a hypocrite, but that's not the point. The point is, if you let your past catch up to you, you've proved you really haven't changed. Take it from a person who's past catches up to him whenever he sleeps; it isn't worth it to live a life dependent on what you did at one point."_

"_But I did such bad things!"_

"_So? I'm not blaming you for doing what you deserved to do. With how underappreciated you were, you really deserved better. They condemned you for trying to stand out and get their love. How can you even try to prove yourself to people like that? Stop trying to be liked by them, and prove to yourself that you don't need their criticism or opinions. If you do that, they'll start respecting you. And with respect will come acceptance, not that you'll need it. You run your own life, so don't let those haters try to ruin it."_

"_But… I was vilified by everypony… how can they ever learn to forgive me?"_

"_Weren't you listening? You don't need some fake bullshit like 'forgiveness' to make yourself feel better. You need self-respect and determination. A clear mind to wade through the shit the world will put you through. Always remember this: even the darkest of stars strive to shine bright. So shine, Luna, shine brighter than anyone around you and learn to finally stand up for yourself."_

_Luna didn't say anything for a few minutes, eventually forcing Rick to stop crouching and get up. Right as he was about to reach his height, he was tackled to the floor in a hug given by Luna. Caught by surprise he landed on his back, which wasn't very pleasant at first. He felt Luna's face digging into his chest, the tears, and the warm breathing. There was some kind of mumbling coming from near him. He looked at his chest to see it was Luna saying something. Of course, that fact that her voice was not only barely audible but muffled as well didn't make it easier for him to make out what she said._

"_What?"_

_She lifted her head, exposing a somewhat tear-stained face for a moment, "Thank you…" It fell back down again._

_He began staring at the endless void above them, "For what?"_

"_For understanding…"_

_He looked at Luna again, watching as his breathing bobbed her head up and down. He used a free hand to lift her head up slowly by the chin. They're eyes connected, focusing on each other._

"_Luna… I would be called a sick bastard and mentally screwed up to be feeling the way I feel about you and Moon. I don't feel that way about any of these other ponies, just you two. And I think I know why. You're both so… so human! I can't understand what it is that makes you that way, but it's driving me crazy. You don't seem to be just something to disregard like your sister, her 'Elements', or any of the ponies that I've seen or met in this world. You're special in the way that makes me question if I really knew the limits of love and emotion… I can't explain it, really. It seemed impossible to ever feel this way again, but… you became the impossible. The diamond among dirt."_

"_Is it really considered that wrong to feel this way on your planet?"_

"_Relationships with animals aren't exactly looked well upon. I think it's because no animal other than humans can speak, have true personalities, emotions, or human traits. So how can they express how they feel? But here, that changes completely. Ponies can speak, think, feel, and live just like humans. So that has to change things, right? Besides, wouldn't ponies look down on another pony having a relationship with a human?"_

"_I hope not…"_

"_And then there's Nightmare Moon… I've already had sex with her for like three weeks straight-"_

_Rick noticed Luna looked like she was about to start crying even harder._

"_But, I can't say that what I'm doing is really right."_

"_Since when," she sniffled, "is being in love a crime?"_

_Rick thought about that question for a good few minutes._

"_Since… I'll tell you when I find out the answers."_

"_And when will that be?"_

_Rick looked at Luna's eyes. They were filled with so many different emotions he began to feel that tug on his heart again. _

"_Luna, I've been pursuing answers all my life and I've only found a handful of them compared to the truck loads of questions. But I will find the answers I need to, and I'll share them with you. Until then, I'd like to ask you something."_

_He used a finger to wipe away a tear that began rolling down her cheek._

"_What?"_

"_How do you feel about me? Our relationship didn't exactly start on the right foot when we were on the Moon."_

_She put her face back into his chest but was still understandable. _

"_I'm not proud of what I did…"_

"_That's fine, but you really tried standing up to me up until I was captured."_

"_I was doing what you didn't like. I was trying to prove myself to the ponies."_

"_And how did that work out?"_

"_They still didn't like me."_

"_You don't need them, that's why. So tell me, what changed when I was captured? I was a real asshole and I hurt you."_

"_Not just me…"_

"_I couldn't care less about them, just tell me about you."_

"_I- I don't know. I was feeling… weird when I killed you."_

"_You felt regret?"_

"_Yes, and it hurt so much."_

"_You actually cared? You did leave me behind, but that doesn't really matter."_

"_I left because I was scared. I didn't want to face the creature I killed without reason. I had no other choice but to try and put on a mask of bravery."_

"_Bravery is for the stupid… How did it feel when you saw me alive?"_

_She lifted her head a little, "My heart jumped around like a frog and I felt like I had parasprites in my stomach."_

"_I'll admit it; I was faking it that whole time."_

"_Really?"_

"_I wasn't mad, I just wanted to be alone and collect my thoughts. I was a little annoyed that you were demanding that I leave, but I got over that quick."_

"_I was wrong for so long…"_

"_We both were. But that doesn't matter, that's in the past. Just do me a favor."_

"_What?"_

"_Always look out for yourself Luna. Don't let anyone try to bring you down; you're too good for that."_

"_Do you really think so?"_

"_Of course. So are you going to start standing up for yourself?"_

"_Yes, because I understand now."_

"_What do you understand?"_

"_Why we do the things we do. Why you put your life on the line so often, why I try to win acceptance. It's all because we feel obligated to others."_

"_I've had that feeling nearly every moment of my life. It's hard not to stick with what you know, because you'll always keep coming back to it some time."_

"_Do you really think that's true?"_

_Rick considered it for a moment, "No. I'm being too pessimistic and I'm not looking at it from the right angle. But that's why I have to finish this Luna. This is why I have to go and see what really happened."_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_When I find out who it was that killed Selene, I think I'll finally be able to let go. She'll be able to rest in peace, and I can find mine. When I've killed whoever it was, I'll remove myself from the Agency."_

"_Do you really need to kill them?"_

"_If it was you that was killed, don't you think I would do the exact same thing?"_

_Despite the gruesome act Rick was determined on doing; Luna understood the compassion behind it. It wasn't entirely for revenge, and it wasn't to add one more body to his kill count, it was for closure. The closure that everyone sought after at point in their lives. The closure that was worth more than some contract or savings. _

_Something bothered Luna however, "But how would you get away from you government? I thought it was impossible for you to accomplish."_

"_Like I said earlier, the impossible is always becoming a reality. I have connections all over the world, and with those, I can end a two hundred real old piece of paper left inside a computer. If I have to, I'll sneak into the database of the Agency and list myself as killed. If that doesn't work, I'll sabotage the Agency itself. If they figure out and try to stop me, I'll just have to kill any one of them in my way."_

"_I don't understand, what changed? Why are you so willing to leave it now?"_

_Rick didn't say anything for a few moments and began looking at the empty void above them. He looked back at Luna when he figured it out._

"_I think I need to visit someone to really understand why."_

"_Visit who?"_

"_My mentor."_

"_Didn't you-"_

"_Kill him?"_

"_Yeah…"_

"_I did. But I'd like to visit his grave. Maybe it'll inspire me."_

"_Are you sure?"_

"_Why wouldn't I be?"_

"_Won't that resurface some old or painful memories?"_

"_Of course, but I'll just have to deal with that. No one said getting the answers was cheap. The toll of knowledge's door is usually top dollar."_

"_You want to go now, don't you?"_

"_Yeah. Can you teleport between universes?"_

"_Not without help from my sister."_

"_I thought she said it was impossible to do that though…"_

"_She must have lied."_

"_Lied? Can she lie?"_

_Luna gave him a funny look, "Of course she can. Why wouldn't she be able to?"_

"_I don't know, I just didn't consider that she would be able to."_

"_Seriously? Everypony can lie."_

"_So why did she lie to me?"_

"_I assume that it's because the spell is extremely powerful and known to resonate to the point where even Earth ponies can feel it. It takes extremely powerful magic-users to be able to break through the walls between universes, and not many instances have ever been documented where such things have happened."_

"_This would have been so much easier if I just had a Displacer."_

_She frowned, "A what?"_

"_A Displacer. It allows for cross-universal travel at will, provided there's enough room, energy, and a destination. I used one once."_

"_What happened?"_

"_I told you what happened, I ended up falling face first into asphalt."_

"_Oh, now I remember. Is it dangerous to use?"_

"_So says a dead madman. I didn't notice anything bad happening from my use of it. Weird thing is… when I came back from Shephard's Island, the one I brought back disappeared. It was just gone, like someone stole it without anyone noticing. The Director didn't care so much, for some reason."_

"_The Director? Who's that? How were the plays he directed?"_

"_Plays? This was the Director of the Executive Operations Agency. In other words, he was my boss."_

_Luna was frowning again, "Oh."_

_Rick smiled, "He wasn't that bad of guy. He was actually really nice compared to the other people I had to deal with."_

"_But the things he made you do, like killing those innocent civilians or fighting all those times unnecessarily! How can you say he wasn't 'that bad of a guy'?"_

"_He really wasn't. He saved my ass quite a few times, and I appreciate that. And even he has his orders to follow, so what choice did he have in giving me mine?"_

"_Is it really that complicated in your world? It seems like everypony is just being used by someone who's supposedly in power."_

"_Everyone has power somewhere; it just takes an effort to find out where. Anyway, do you think we can convince your sister to get me in my world?"_

_Luna looked away for a moment, unsure of what to say. Rick stared at her, waiting for an answer._

_He bit his bottom lip, "What's wrong Luna?"_

"_It's just that… that you won't be able to stay in your universe for long…"_

_Confused, Rick tried going deeper, "What do you mean?"_

"_We aren't powerful enough to stay in another universe for long, so we'll all get pulled back into this one after a certain amount of time. We're not breaking boundaries Rick, we're just stretching them."_

_To her surprise, Rick responded immediately, "I understand and it's perfectly fine."_

"_You know you won't be able to stay in your universe, right? We don't really have the ability to set you into it."_

"_I wasn't planning on leaving just yet."_

"_Really? But I thought you said you were waiting to leave with your frien-"_

"_I have unfinished business here. When Aden comes down, he'll just have to help me finish up instead."_

"_Business, though? What are you talking about?"_

"_I have to kill Hadrian and Tobias."_

"_Is that really necessary? Do you really need to kill them just because they wronged you?"_

"_Yes. I don't think you understand the danger they present to your world Luna, because I definitely do. They have much more advanced technology that can level cities and kills thousands with the push of a button. I'll being doing you all a favor when they die by my hands."_

"_But who are they? Why are you all against each other? What are you fighting for? What are they fighting for?"_

"_I can't answer that last one, but I fight for what I believe in, or at least used to. Hadrian was a friend of Tobias's who saved me when I was running from the FSB, and Tobias was an agent from Germany wh-"_

"_Wait, wait, wait. You mean to tell me there's a country called Germaney in your world too?"_

"_What? Ger-man-ee, not Ger-mane-ee. Why, you have a country here called Germaney?"_

"_Yes, and they're quite reserved from the world."_

"_Figures. Anyway, Tobias was a German agent who I teamed up with for some time. He was supposed to be dead, but I guess that was a fabrication. I honestly thought I could trust him just as much as Aden… but I guess not. I _really_ don't like to admit it, but… me and Tobias really became good friends."_

"_Then why would you want to kill him?"_

"_Because he's already tried to kill me on two separate occasions?"_

"_Maybe he has a reason to try and kill you. He _could_ know that you aren't able to truly die, so what if he's only doing what he's tasked with doing? He probably doesn't like doing this to you."_

"_Oh yeah he does. I saw the way he looked at me and I heard the things he said."_

"_He could have been faking it, just like you did."_

"_Jenine did say he was a good actor… Wait, how the hell did we end up talking about Tobias?"_

"_I think I asked why you wanted to kill him."_

"_Huh. Well, let's go see your sister then."_

_Luna got off of Rick, her horn getting caught under the dog tags and jingling some in the process. She took notice and got back onto to him, leaning in close to examine them. She stared at them as if they were some kind of oddities from a different dimension, not too sure of what they were for. She seemed uneasy at the two horns, despite one of them being from a completely different animal._

"_I don't understand, why do you carry all of these? What purpose does it serve?"_

"_It serves the purpose of memory. Someone should remember those that fell in the line of duty."_

_Luna squinted to make out the small text on a dog tag with a horn connected to it._

"_Jethro… Buch-Buck-Bach-"_

"_Buchanan."_

"_What does it mean?"_

"_Some names have no meaning."_

"_Really? Then what purpose do they serve?"_

"_Everyone needs a name, even if it means nothing at first. We give it meaning through our actions, so others will remember those names and people who carried them."_

"_So you keep these in memory of those that have died?"_

"_Yeah, and I really shouldn't. It's bad luck to carry physical memories of the dead."_

"_Why's that?"_

"_Because their death might rub off on you."_

"_I didn't think you were the superstitious type."_

"_I've seen a lot of unexplainable things in my time, and some of them have proven they aren't all just a bunch of hoodoo."_

"_Like what?"_

"_I was nearly killed by the Loch Ness Monster once when some drunk, black guy with a bottle of Scrumpy and some TNT tried hunting it. Then there's the time I met the ghost of Stalin, which was crazy ass experience. Oh and I think I killed an alien once in the steppes of Mongolia. Might have actually been a local, now that I think about it… But it probably wasn't because the body disintegrated into nothing after I killed it. Huh. I've run into some weird shit in my time, but nothing as weird as this."_

"_As what? Being in Equestria?"_

"_Yeah. Who would have thought there was a planet somewhere that had sentient, civilized creatures on it? I sure as hell didn't. I thought I was on Earth up until I saw there were no buildings or huge cities. It's the scariest, most incredible, and refreshing feeling to know that you're the only human around. Well, I _was_ the only human, but it's still pretty nice."_

"_What's your favorite part of Equestria? Canterlot? Ponyville?"_

"_No way, Everfree Forest fo' life."_

"_Seriously?"_

"_Yeah. Why?"_

"_It's so… different!"_

"_So… free?"_

"_Exactly! It functions by itself without the need of ponies. That's pretty scary."_

"_Wait, what? Are _you _being serious? That's exactly how the world is supposed to be functioning. And it's not scary, it's actually really breathtaking. Did I just say 'breathtaking'? What the hell is being here doing to me?"_

"_But how isn't it scary? There's thing there that can't be explained, and I know you don't like that as much as I do."_

"_Oh yeah, there's definitely something scary there, but it isn't the Forest."_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_There's a haunted village not far from the Castle. After I saved Trixie, I went around the Forest to see if I could find anything. She was out for like, two days maybe? That gave me plenty of time to get stuff done, so I went exploring. I ended up finding a burnt down or destroyed village. There was this… thing. It looked like one of those kid ponies and it ran away from me towards the center of the village. I wanted to ask it some questions, but it wouldn't stop for me. So I chased it to the center where it just vanished. Then the real freaky shit started happening. It was pretty dark, but out of nowhere, the scenery and lighting kept changing and flickering between a bright village to this destroyed one. I thought my mind was playing tricks on me, so I tried getting the fuck outta there ASAP. But then these other things…" he shuddered, "came out of the ground. They were like a cross between shadows, zombies, and skeletons. There must have been over a dozen of them trying to get close to me. I don't know why, but it brought back memories of when I was with the Recon and Disposal of Paranormal Anomalies Group. I was only with them for two missions, but that stuff stays with you for life. Anyway, I was cornered and couldn't escape. They eventually all got within a few feet when my back was against a wall, then they just stood there for a few minutes. They just left after that, but I reached out and touched one. All of them just had these glowing red eyes and came at me. When they all converged on me, they went through me. Nothing happened. They just went through, stood there for another minute, and left. Then I see that pony from earlier, and follow her out of the village. When I make it out, she's nowhere to be found. I ended up back at the Castle five minutes later and a deep sense of wonder as to how my mental state is holding up."_

"_Did this really happen?"_

"_Yeah. Never going back there again though, that's for sure. But yeah, being on this planet has been the weirdest experience I've ever had. Nothing makes sense."_

"_How does nothing make sense?"_

"_How was there an atmosphere on the Moon, let alone ponies on it? How are there sentient ponies that can speak English perfectly fine? Why did nature seclude itself to a Forest? Why did two ponies take its place? How did crashing into my Moon end me up on your Moon? Where are all the answers? Why can't we find them? Who has them? When will all this end?"_

"_Well, to answer your first one, I created the atmosphere."_

"_How? Magic?"_

"_Yes, a very powerful spell. Doing it nearly put me out cold."_

"_So what were you doing on the Moon?"_

"_I was on my balcony, thinking about space travel. I considered the idea before, but… now I wanted to begin something new. Go where nopony has gone before, other than me of course. I wanted to push ponykind to the stars, and once I made the Moon possible to survive on, it would become the first step."_

"_A colony."_

"_Exactly."_

"_I was going to do the exact same thing. Is that a coincidence?"_

"_I'm not sure, but it has to be. What else could it be?"_

"_Something else."_

"_We'll figure it out later. Now, how about we-"_

_Luna stared at Rick for a moment, unnerving him slightly._

"_What? What's wrong?"_

_She traced a hoof on his chest, running it down slowly. _

"_I never noticed before, but you're so warm."_

"_I'm human, we roll like that."_

"_You lack fur or any sort of coat, but still… It's incredibly odd how you maintain your body temperature like that."_

_Rick smirked, "What's wrong, can't handle da' heat?"_

_Luna pouted, "I'll have you know I'm just fine with 'da' heat'."_

"_Uh huh, sure. You know, Moon said the exact same thing. Do you guys not prod-"_

_Rick stopped and looked at Luna. From his current angle, he could see that she was looking down again and from what he could hear, about to cry. She began breathing heavily on his chest, placing his mind in a slightly awkward position. He tried suppressing the thoughts, but they eventually made their way through. As wrong a time as it was, he began feeling something else._

_Luna lifted her head, "I don't understand; what do you see in her that you don't see in me?" Her head fell back down again._

'_Ahhh shit. Complete derailment and mood swing.'_

"_Luna listen, it's just that with Moon there's a difference between her approach and yours."_

"_What do you mean 'my approach'?"_

"_You see, humans aren't exactly meant to be in relationships with other species. It's actually a pretty taboo thing on Earth."_

_She turned her head so her voice wouldn't be muffled, "But why should that matter? Don't you like me?"_

"_Of course, but trying to break an idea instilled by society isn't exactly an easy thing to do. Don't you think that this is a serious mindfuck to me right now?"_

_Luna's breathing became harder and warmer, getting a positive reaction from Rick's pants. He groaned, bit down on his lip, and forced himself to continue._

"_The difference between you and Moon is that she actually changed herself to fit my needs. I can't ask you to do that, not for me. There's no reason to change into a human to ju-"_

_Luna's head shot up, "That's what she did? She transformed herself into a human? Is that all it took for you to accept her?"_

"_Luna, you have to reali-"_

"_Was it?"_

"_It made it easier."_

_Luna's head fell back down dejectedly. Her breathing was still having a reaction on Rick, and within a short amount of time, she began to notice. Something began rising against her abdomen, surprising her and forcing her to look down. She jumped up with an 'eep' and stared at it._

"_Is-is that what I-I think it is?"_

"_Damn't Luna, don't look at it! Shit's going to get weird if you do."_

"_Di-did I do that?"_

"_Can we not talk about this? And could you stop staring at it?"_

_Curious, Luna placed a hoof on the object trying to break out of Rick's shorts. Luna's eyesight must have been extraordinary to be able to see the single bead of sweat running down Rick's face._

_She leaned in close slyly, "What's wrong? You seem nervous."_

'_What the fuck! Is she seriously trying to seduce me?'_

_Rick gave a cross between an excited and ambivalent chuckle, "That's not funny. Are you trying to be-"_

_She put a hoof to Rick's mouth, which only made his words garbled and impossible to understand. Despite it, he still spoke as if someone was going to listen. While Luna couldn't hear him, Rick began reciting the Pledge of Allegiance repeatedly to calm himself down. It didn't even work in the slightest._

"_Shh."_

_Rick tried to turn his head to get a better look at what she was about to do but went back far when Luna suddenly lit up her horn. Blinded by the light, Rick squinted to make out what was happening. Despite his best efforts, the light proved too strong to see through, forcing him to wait a few seconds as it died down. Unfortunately for him, adjusting to the regular amount of light took longer than he wanted. His regular sight came back after a minute of waiting on the floor, not moving an inch. As he began blinking, he started to make out a vaguely familiar shape. _

_Sitting on top of Rick was Luna, dressed only in human-equivalents of her crown, shoes and necklace. While Nightmare Moon's human form was more mature and developed, Luna's was a few years younger. Rick's jaw dropped for a moment, but he quickly regained his senses._

"_What the fu-"_

"_Is this what a female human looks like?"_

"_Luna, you look like you're a student at a university. That's," Rick silently counted a few numbers, "roughly six to twelve years younger than me, give or take."_

"_So?" Luna looked down at her breasts in curiosity and pressed them together. "Are these my-"_

"_Yes! Please don't do that, because I don't want something to react to that."_

"_React? You mean like your-"_

"_Yeah, like my dick. I bet you're really having some laughs, right?"_

'_Great, she goes from being all sad to this?'_

_She giggled, "Well, I must say it's quite an interesting experience to be in another body, let alone one with such an odd structure." She looked over her new body, "How did I go from blue to this…"_

"_I don't know. And I'm pretty sure your hair wasn't black either. Then again, humans don't naturally have blue skin or hair, so that's a pretty interesting change."_

_She gasped, "Where's my Cutie Mark?"_

"_I see it."_

"_What? Where is it?"_

_Rick pulled Luna in close and looked into her eyes. A small, white crescent moon lied inside both pupils on her blue eyes. _

"_Right there."_

_Luna looked back at his, "What about yours?"_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_There are marks tracing the inside. Little, white dashes, three of them."_

"_Three? Last time I checked, there were thirteen of them."_

"_Thirteen?"_

"_Oh yeah, and in darkening colors too. Anyway, that's where your Mark went."_

"_Yes… so?"_

"_So, what?"_

"_How is it?"_

"_Your eyes?"_

"_No, my body!"_

"_Whoa. Well, it's a bit young for me is the problem here. I mean, I'm probably somewhere around half a decade to a full decade older than you. As much as I'd love to take that pu-" Rick stopped himself, "Let me rephrase that. I'm probably too old for you."_

'Oh you motherfucker. Do _not_ let that piece of ass get away from you!'

"_What? Who the hell are you to tell me what to do?"_

_Luna stared at Rick in confusion as he began arguing with himself._

'The fuck is wrong with you? How do you _not_ just want to bang the _shit_ outta her?'

"_Do _not_ try that shit on me, bitch! I'm not going to do something as fucked up as that to her!"_

'You were having almost nonstop sex with Moon for three weeks, so what the hell is the difference?'

"_She's more innocent, that's what! I can't do that, and Moon had her shit on_ lock_!"_

_Luna pouted at that name but continued to listen._

'Yeah, she did, didn't she…'

"_Oh, no doubt. I mean like-"_

'With the bouncing-'

"_And that one mouth trick-"_

'Oh god! The trick! And with her-'

"_Tits? Oh yeah, that was some pretty impressive work right there. But my favorite part was in the-"_

'Shower, where she just grabbed that shit and-'

"_She's a G. Admit it."_

'What's to admit? It's straight up a fact.'

"_Glad we got to an agreement on this."_

'Yeah, yeah, it's cool. And if not Luna, who is a princess I might add, there's always Moon for some late night coffee. But just to make this clear, that's royal pussy. That doesn't exactly come by often.'

"_There's always the future. Well, it's been a good talk, keep it icy."_

'Ight, ight, peace out man.'

_Rick exhaled and looked at Luna's extremely perplexed face. _

"_Well, glad we settled that."_

_Luna's jaw fell, "Settled what? You were just having a conversation with no one!"_

"_I had a really interesting conversation regarding the abilities of a friend of mine. Well, as I was saying, you're too damn young for me Luna."_

"_What?" she managed to squeak out. Her eyes connected with Rick's, putting fire into her words. "But I'm three thousand years old! I'm far older than you!"_

"_That may be, but you're in the body of a much younger woman. And by much younger, I mean less than ten years."_

"_Why does that make a difference?_

"_Because it would just seem weird! Are you really that attracted to me to the point where that doesn't matter?"_

"_You didn't have a problem with Nightmare Moon!"_

"_She actually looked my age, which factors in a lot. Well, that and my ability to rationalize and think clearly were pretty much demolished to the point where I just doing whatever activity presented itself in front of me."_

"_So then what's changed? You need to mentally deranged to be with either of us?"_

"_Well, I've been experiencing the most clarity I've had since I've been here, so I can't say that it isn't possible. Of course the way I see it is, my mind will go straight back to the sky once something happens to affect my thinking ability. That's just a hypothesis and really shouldn't be taken too seriously."_

"_How exactly would your mind revert back?"_

"_Death, trauma, pain, strong emotions; just about anything like those could set me back. There's always the chance it might not though."_

"_How do you know all of this?"_

"_I'm guessing based off of what I know and how I've been reacting to things recently. Closer to normal than normal as of late. So to sum up why I won't have sex or start a serious relationship with you Luna is because of three reasons. One, you're too innocent and young. Two, it probably just wouldn't work out. Three, you're a princess. You're too good for some universe-jumping, mentally unstable asshole with all sorts of problems."_

_Luna couldn't look him in the eye, "You think I'm too good for you?"_

"_You know the answer to that. I don't understand Luna, why don't you value yourself like you should? Who cares if your servants don't like you, screw them! They're just mad that you're stylin' all up on their shit."_

"_They're what?"_

"_What I'm trying to say is that you're too good for anyone else," he used a finger to lift her head up to his, "including me."_

_She stared into his eyes, "That's not true…"_

"_Listen, I'm not going to argue this any longer."_

_He heard her shiver, thinking that she was disgusted or annoyed by his words.  
><em>

_Rick pulled Luna down to his chest once he noticed her shivering was caused by a lack of clothing, "Are you cold?"_

"_A little…"_

_Rick put his arms over her and heated up his body to a more comfortable level for Luna. Not hot enough to burn her and not cold enough to let her shiver, the temperature was perfect for both of them. _

"_Better?"_

"_How did you do that?"_

"_The same way I was able to use pyrokinesis for the first time, I was able to raise my body temperature. I hope that doesn't come with side effects. So, how about now?"_

"_I feel better…"_

"_How about we get you some clothes?"_

"_Where will you get clothing for a female human?"_

"_I have a place, don't worry. Now, how long are you going to be human for?"_

"_I don't know, I sort of did it on impulse and didn't bother to set a time limit."_

"_We'll just grab you something from my place then. You wouldn't mind if we made a few stops, right?"_

"_Stops?"_

"_I still need to see that one thing from way back, then I need to visit someone. It shouldn't take long."_

"_But the cold…"_

_Rick pressed a hand into Luna's back, releasing safe amounts of thermal heat into her body. The process made him feel slightly sluggish and nauseous, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. Luna shivered once the heat made contact with her._

"_That should last you a good amount of time before it wears out and lets you feel cold again."_

"_How did you know that would work?"_

"_I didn't. So, are you ready?"_

"_Yes. Now, how do these work…"_

_Luna, with shaky legs, got off of Rick and onto her own two feet. She took a few nervous steps forward, and then attempted to walk with more confidence. As luck would have it, her legs gave out, dropping her to the floor and onto her face._

"_Ow…"_

_Rick got up, walked over, and helped her up._

"_Are you okay?"_

"_Yes, but that was so embarrassing!"_

"_You're telling me? I've hit my face against the floor I don't know how many times in the past day. But it's kind of cute when you do it."_

_She blushed, which was easier to see on human skin than through a pony's fur, "You really thought it was cute?"_

"_Yeah, but don't go around purposely slamming your face against the floor. It would be a shame to ruin such a nice thing."_

"_Oh."_

"_Now, do you need me to help you? Or would you rather… Ah, to hell with it."_

_Rick swept Luna off of her feet and carried her over to where Celestia and her student had stayed through the long ordeal. From the looks of it, neither had paid any attention to what happened between Rick and Luna. Both were met with gasps from Twilight and Princess Celestia._

_Celestia pointed an accusing hoof at Rick, "Where's Luna?"_

_Luna opened her mouth to speak, but Rick cut her off, "Oh this? This is L-Moon, the best female singer on the East Coast," he whispered into Luna's ear, "which is the best coast might I add."_

_Luna shook her head, "It's me, Sister. Luna."_

_Celestia's head backed up far enough that it looked like it was going to rocket into space, "WHAT? YOU'RE NOT LUNA!"_

_Rick put his hands out, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Chillax a little, ight? There's no need to yell in an endless void. And yeah, this is Luna."_

_Twilight looked up to Luna, "Princess Luna? Is that really you?"_

"_Yes Twilight."_

"_How did you end up like that? You look… like Rick."_

_Rick laughed, "What? I guess because you haven't seen any other humans you think we all look alike. That kind of generalization could get you killed in the hood... But seriously, to other humans, we'd look nothing alike other than skin color."_

_Celestia shook her head, "How do I know that's really Luna? What if it's a trick by you and Nightmare Moon?"_

_Luna pouted and spoke in a whiny voice, "Buuuuuut Ceeeellleeeerrrryyyy!"_

"_Oh my…" Celestia whispered._

_She quickly nuzzled Luna, who reached her arms around Celestia's neck. Rick, who was still holding Luna, was caught in a weird position a bit too close to both of them. He tried craning his neck back as to avoid being between a warm family moment, and Luna took notice. She put her right arm around Rick's neck and brought him into the odd, three-way hug. He sighed and looked at Twilight, who was looking down sadly. He chuckled to himself and ducked his head to get out of the hug._

"_Well, that was fun and all, but I think we should get going. I need to see something, visit someone, and then get Luna some clothes."_

_Celestia opened her eyes and looked at Rick, "How did she end up as a human?"_

"_Ask her yourself."_

_Celestia looked at Luna, who had a sheepish smile, "Well… you see… I may have been a tad bit overzealous when I was talking with Rick."_

_Celestia gave a suspicious look to Rick, "Yes, you both did seem to take quite a while. How long are you going to be a human for, Luna?"_

_Luna sighed, "I don't know, I didn't really set a time to change back."_

_Rick scratched his beard, "Can't you just use magic on her?"_

_Celestia shook her head, "No, I've never worked with humans or human anatomy before, so I might make a mistake. The best course of action is to wait it out and see what happens."_

_As the three contemplated what was happening, something touched Luna's backside. Surprising her, she jumped up with another 'eep' and looked at Rick._

"_What was that?"_

_Twilight, who was already half of Rick's height, saw a shape protruding from his shorts and against Luna._

"_What _is_ that?"_

_Rick held in a laugh, "It's a one-eyed trouser snake. They like to bite and go into small spaces."_

_Twilight, who was not only visibly frightened but had her hair stand up, quickly dashed behind Celestia, "S-s-snake!"_

"_What the hell?" Rick looked at Luna, who only shrugged._

_Celestia chuckled lightly, "She isn't very fond of snakes, you see."_

"_I don't think anyone got the joke, but that's fine. Can we head out?"_

_Celestia put a hoof to Luna's forehead, "Are you feeling okay? Do you need some time to rest?"_

_Luna pushed the hoof away, "I'm fine, Cel, really. I just can't walk very well yet, that's all."_

_She looked at Luna with worry, "Are you sure?"_

_Luna exhaled, "Yes."_

"_I suppose it's fine for us to move on then…" She looked to Rick, "Just think about it."_

"_Right. Next stop, my bedroom."_

_He got some weird looks for saying that, but they were quickly engulfed in light before he could explain._

* * *

><p>"Selene? You home?"<p>

Rick walked into his bedroom, "Hey Selene, I got something to ask yo-"

He fell to his knees and stared at the body of Selene. It laid against the backboard of the bed, her face expressed in the same ways Rick saw in his nightmares. It was full of surprise, shock, and ultimately, a bullet. The hole itself still leaked blood as it ran down her face and stained the white sheets of the bed.

"S-Selene?"

"_A beautiful woman, even in death. A whole world was taken away on this day and a whole lot of nightmares were given."_

Rick put up his right arm and punched himself in the jaw, right before staring in disbelief again.

_Twilight looked up to Rick, "Why did you punch yourself? Didn't that hurt?"_

"_Sometimes physical pain can't compare to psychological. That kind of pain hurts forever."_

_She nodded, unsure if he was still feeling that pain. To her, he seemed more like an enigmatic stranger than someone who had a life of his own. _

"She was a wonderful woman, wasn't she?"

_She never actually considered before that he might have experience and knowledge only known by him and him only, despite the story and explanation he shared three weeks earlier._

"Selene would have made quite the wife for you."

_In her mind, he turned from an uncontrollable force to a person with a wealth she could learn from. _

"Maybe you would have even broken your promise of not continuing the bloodline, just for her."

_Of course, his knowledge was mixed with so many other things she didn't want to know, it almost scared her to consider what things he could tell her._

"All the things you would have done, just to make her your wife. Amazing what the heart can make a man do."

_She shuddered when her mind played an exaggerated simulation about him telling her all the ways he's killed creatures, as if it was a business presentation._

"Now, time to finish this."

"_Pause the memory."_

_Celestia lit her horn as the flashback froze._

A man stood by Rick, who was kneeling on the floor. The two men's faces looked at each other, with Rick's jaw dropped. They both had the same exact face, staring at each other.

"_That's you!" Luna exclaimed._

"_No, it isn't."_

_Rick walked over to his doppelganger and examined his neck. Finding nothing that could indicate a type of mask or espionage tool, he sighed and stepped back._

"_Unpause it."_

_Celestia's horn glowed as the scene continued._

The man walked around and crouched behind Rick. He got close to his ear and whispered, "Life's grand, isn't it?"

The man got up, turned around, walked a few steps, and then spun around quickly.

"I won't fail, but a lot of men will. And with that," he gave a loud clap, "humanity's fate is sealed!"

He began laughing uncontrollably, which settled into a quiet chuckle. He crouched in front of Rick and stared into his eyes. He took the Panther and held it between their faces before placing it on the floor in front of Rick. Rick's head looked down at the Panther as the man patted it and got up.

"Now please, do everyone a favor."

The man walked out of the room.

_Rick, still carrying Luna, walked after the man and out of the room. They arrived in the main hallway as the man leaned against a wall._

The man pulled a small hand radio out of the right pocket of his pinstripe suit's jacket. He held it to his mouth and spoke, "This is AlRod. He didn't question it. No, Eric's going to take care of it himself. I know he will. Yes. I'd say he looked absolutely pathetic on his knees. I'll disappear right after I hear the next bullet being fired. Everything is set up and ready for his teammate to use. No. Right then, I'll being seeing you soon."

After hearing some garbled words, the man pocketed the hand radio again and pulled a white, blank stage mask out of his left jacket pocket. As he slowly put the mask to his face, a wide grin curled over it as a loud bang went off in the next room.

_The memory paused as soon as the bang occurred. It didn't matter for Rick though; he was too busy staring blankly at the man._

_Luna used a hand to shake him, "Rick? Rick, what's wrong? What does this mean?"_

_He didn't speak for a few moments before coming back into reality._

"_That mask. Do you know who owns that mask?"_

"_You?"_

"_No. Hadrian."_

"_The man trying to kill you?"_

"_That was the exact same mask he wore the day I met him. It's so plain, yet so fucking taunting."_

"_What does this mean?"_

"_It means four things: You owe me an apology. There was a reason to looking back at those memories. Hadrian is really AlRod, and AlRod really killed Selene. How he managed to get my face is another story. I'd say it's a bio-mask."_

"_Bio-mask?"_

"_A mask created from the same stuff the foam I use is from. It generates another face over your own that can be removed at any time. It must have taken a really good surgeon and a pretty penny to get it perfectly matching to my face."_

"_Can humans really do that?"_

"_Science makes the impossible possible."_

_She looked away from him, "I'm surprised you aren't more angry or thrashing about."_

_Rick still stared at the man, "Don't let appearances fool you. Right now, I'm the most fucking furious I've ever been in my whole life. That's saying a lot. Somehow, I'm managing to hide it. Better for you."_

_Rick took Luna back into the bedroom where Twilight was hiding behind Celestia, who stared at the past Rick. The paused memory, at this point, showed Rick as he blew his brains across the room. The image was perfectly frozen in such a way where it showed the pieces of Rick's head flying away as little bits in a scattered cone shape. Celestia didn't seem to react much, simply staring at him. Twilight, on the other hand, hid behind Celestia with her hooves covering her eyes. Rick felt a tinge of guilt at traumatizing her, but brushed it off quickly. _

_He stepped up to Celestia, "Enjoying the view?"_

_She didn't respond for a good minute before shaking her head, "No. I've never seen something like this. This was inconceivably terrible and horrid."_

"_I never understood it."_

_She broke her gaze from the past Rick, "What?"_

"_How that bullet didn't kill me. It destroyed most of my head, yet I still lived."_

"_Didn't your friend help you?"_

"_I'm not sure if medical foam can replace an entire brain. That's inconceivably difficult."_

"_Luck, perhaps?"_

"_Maybe."_

_Rick moved to where his past self fired the bullet, "He was right."_

_Luna looked at him, "Who was?"_

"_AlRod. Look at me. Pathetic."_

_Her jaw fell, "What? How can you say that about yourself?"_

"_It's true. Suicide is never the answer, no matter what."_

_She began stuttering her words in disbelief, "A-are you _serious_? You were only expressing your emotions! Granted, it was a tad extreme, but you needed an outlet."_

"_To the point where I attempted suicide? If there's one thing I hate as much as rape, it's someone trying to commit suicide. There's no excuse for that. It should never come to that."_

"_Why are you being so self-loathing?"_

_He chuckled sadly, "This was one of the biggest mistakes I ever made. It showed how truly weak I was."_

_She looked at the floor, "That's not weakness…"_

_He began raising his voice, "Then what is then? Huh? It sure as hell ain't strength! It's pure fucking weakness embodied in a human shell!"_

"_Please… just stop…"_

_Rick sighed, "Sorry." He walked back to Celestia, "I learned what I needed to learn. Let's get to that place I was talking with Luna about."_

"_Where is it?"_

"_My world."_

"_You know we won't be able to stay, right? It's a short term transport. Roughly a little over an hour."_

"_That's fine; I don't need to stay long."_

"_This is slightly easier than a flashback, just focus on the place. I can't stress this enough, but focus only on that place and make sure you do it clearly. Are you ready?"_

"_Yeah."_

"_Well then, let's visit your planet, shall we?"_

_Due to the intense nature of the spell, Celestia's horn glowed a vivid and spectacular light that consumed the four instantly. _

* * *

><p>"This place looks morbid."<p>

"It's a graveyard, what did you expect?"

"Something more normal, perhaps?"

"Not princessy enough for you, Celestia?"

"It isn't for anypony. May we please leave as soon as possible?"

"This shouldn't take long. We only have to find one specific grave out of the thousands here in Arlington."

"Thousands? That would take more time than we have!"

"Then use your magic to teleport us to the gravesite."

"I should have thought of that. What's the name we're looking for?"

"It's that easy?"

"No, but I make it seem that way. The name?"

"Jethro Buchanan."

"Right, get ready and hold your breath."

"Why would I hold my brea-"

Rick was cut short when Celestia transported all of them from the gates of Arlington National Cemetery to a specific plot and tombstone. Rick fell onto his back, wheezing loudly.

Celestia trotted over to him, "Didn't I say to hold your breath? Your recklessness is going to get you killed one day."

Rick eventually got back to breathing regularly, but the idea of choking the shit out of Celestia was still hanging around in his mind. Pushing past the pettiness, he moved over to the first grave he saw in front of him and rubbed the dust away from the name.

"This is the one."

Rick walked back to Celestia and placed Luna on top of her. It was an odd feeling for both of them, but Rick couldn't care less as he walked back to the grave and removed a dog tag from his neck. He used a hand to dig into the ground a few inches in front of the tombstone and placed the dog tag inside. After covering it up, he got up while brushing off the dirt. He backed up a few steps and saluted for a few seconds.

"What are you doing?"

He looked back to see Twilight staring at him.

"Saluting the only man I could ever respect enough to salute."

"Saluting? Like in the military?"

Rick sighed, "Yes, like in the 'military'. Would you give me a minute to talk with this rock over here?"

"Sheesh, all I wanted to do was ask."

Twilight walked away as Rick leaned against the tombstone. After a few minutes of nothing happening, he began to relax. Something occurred to him that he didn't notice before. There was no one else in the cemetery.

'Wait, what? How's that possible? There's always someone here.'

"Oh, there's someone here all right."

Rick turned around to see Jethro, or at least his spirit.

"Huh. So there are such things as ghosts."

"Ghost? That's a generalization of paranormal anomalies fabricated by the mass media. I prefer using the word, 'anomaly'."

"So then what the hell am I talking to?"

"Me."

"You? Who's you? A ghost?"

"Were you not just paying attention? 'Anomaly'! And you know who the fuck I am."

Rick chuckled, "Oh yeah, it's you all right. How the hell am I talking to you if you're dead?"

"Remember Shephard's Island, when you were evacing?"

"I remember. You scared the shit out of me."

Jethro began laughing, "Oh man, watching that was hilarious. Avant garde humor at its best."

"Yes, because traumatizing people even more after something like Shephard's Island is funny, right?"

Jethro shrugged, "I laughed."

"Of course you did."

"Anyway, what's up?"

"Just returning something."

Jethro looked at the freshly covered hole in the ground, "Most people return those to the rightful families."

"You have no family."

"Good, that was a trick. So I taught you well about bad luck, huh?"

"Yeah, but I'm still carrying all of these." Rick grabbed and held out all of the other dog tags attached to his neck.

Jethro whistled, "Damn! Why do you have so many?"

"Mine's, Billy's, Tyrone's, and I just buried yours."

"Jenine's and Aden's?"

"Never recovered Jenine's and Aden is supposedly still alive."

"Really? I thought he got killed when I saw him lying like a dead bum in that helicopter."

"His lazy ass came into contact with some gas and fell asleep. Some people, right?"

They both laughed for a few seconds as it slowly died down.

Jethro frowned, "But really Rick, why are you here?"

Rick pretended to be offended, "What? How can you say something like that?"

"Oh don't give me that bullshit. You haven't visited me in a long time. So what's changed?"

"I need answers."

"What are the questions?"

"How were you so loyal to the U.S.?"

Jethro sighed, "It takes a lot to be a patriot these days, doesn't it? Back in the old times, before any of us, being a patriot might have meant ratting out on your neighbor, or picking up a gun and joining the military. Now, being a patriot means following orders blindly and without hesitation. Now, being a patriot means being an idiot."

"What do you mean?"

"Rick, I spent my whole life following orders and doing what I was told. I had no initiative or will to move forward anymore, because all I was needed for was to just complete this objective, or steal that briefcase or some stupid shit. I was stuck in a career-limbo that wouldn't let me advance myself. So I just kept doing what I did best. Rick, don't make the same mistakes I did."

"What mistakes did you ever make? You were a legend, and just about everyone in the Agency respected you."

"They respected my loyalty, not me. To them, I was a prime example of what spending your life for a country led to. Sure, some people may have wanted the legacy that followed them, but it isn't worth it. It's never worth it, because at the end of the day, all those words will mean is that someone might have known something about you. Words, words, words. They mean nothing when compared to a human being's life. That's worth more than all the words in the world ten times over. I realized all that I know now is way too late to actually help me. You should learn from my mistakes and utilize what I know now to help you."

"But Jethro, why are you tel-"

"Why? Because you still have a fucking chance to leave what I couldn't. I was way too invested in my job and that proved to be not only the fall of me, but the suffering of you. I can't believe I made you do that. I should have never pressured you into killing those people or any of that."

Rick looked at the floor, "It wasn't your fault. I made the choice to do all that."

"But I enabled you. I asked you to finish every single objective of that mission. I made you lose what little innocence you had left. Before that, you never did something like that, did you?"

"No… but it gave me the experience I needed to do it again."

"No Rick, never do that. Never again. We aren't pawns and we're not drones who don't know right from wrong. We're people. Living, breathing people that can feel and express their emotions. Please, try to understand that every life shouldn't be taken just because you can, or are told to. If you literally have to, fine, go ahead and take someone else's life away. But don't become used to it and numb."

"You're too late there…"

"Jesus, Rick, what have you been doing?"

"Things I'm not proud of."

"You're following right in my footsteps." Jethro shook his head, "Listen Rick, when I took you as my student, I didn't expect you to really achieve much. I know, I know, I was pretty damn wrong. But it was _you_ that proved me wrong. You were the one who always managed to survive. You were the one who managed your life. I only taught you basic things that anyone could have taught you."

"That's not true, you taught me a lot of shit that I still do today."

"That may be, but that's probably because you just don't know how to let go. You can't emulate me Rick, it isn't good for you."

"Good for me? What are you talking about?"

"I had my own way of living, but you still try to emulate it. Learn to do things your own way. Learn to live for yourself and the ones close to you. Develop your own style of life, and make it prosper. By doing what I do, you're only giving up what little freedom you may have. You're still letting your past guide your future."

"No, I wouldn't do that. I do what I do by my rules, no one else's."

Jethro chuckled glumly, "Rick, both of us know that's a load of crock. Stop being a soldier, Rick and start being a person. It's time to put all of that behind you. Seriously."

"I can't put it behind me. I need that to survive."

"You don't need shit to survive other than yourself. 'Stop coming up with excuses because you'll only start sounding like Confucius.' Tyrone said that. Any member of our old team would not be liking what you've been doing Rick. Do you think Billy would want you living like this? Like a dog? You're no dog of war Rick, you're so much more. Learn from our mistakes. Learn how to live like a human being again."

"You make it sound easy."

"It is. Leave the Agency."

"That's next to impossible."

"But you were planning on doing it anyway, weren't you?"

"Yeah… and I will one day."

"Not one day, Rick, as soon as humanly possible. Pretend to commit suicide and have Aden help you or something like that."

"That might not work…"

"It's an example. Listen, there's one thing that I always asked myself but never knew the answer to."

"What?"

"'Do I have loyalty to my country, or loyalty to myself?'"

"Can't it be both?"

"No, it never can. Where do your loyalties lie, Rick? In the past, where you're still haunted by what you've done, or in the future, where you have the opportunity to be great? Are you loyal to the fake patriotism you still carry, or are you loyal to freedom you deserve? Well?"

"I- I don't know."

Jethro got closer to Rick's face and began yelling, "WHO ARE YOU LOYAL TO RICK? IS IT YOUR COUNTRY OR YOU? ARE YOU A DOG OR A MAN? YOU CAN BE ONLY ONE, SO TELL ME WHAT YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU'RE LOYAL TO!"

"Jethro, I can't just pic-"

"YES! YOU DEFINITELY CAN! WHAT ARE YOU? WHO ARE YOU LOYAL TO? ANSWER ME!"

Rick's mood changed to one of anger and matched Jethro's volume with his own, "I AM A MAN, AND I'M LOYAL TO MYSELF, MY FUTURE AND MY FREEDOM! I AM A FREE MAN!"

Jethro's negative demeanor sank and let way to something far more prideful.

"Rick, do you understand why I asked that?"

Rick, who was still breathing heavily, responded, "Yeah, I do. I understand what you mean now. Have I really been living this way my whole life?"

"Not your whole life. Just a good part of it. Now that time is over. Live for yourself, and if you can, for the ones who matter to you. Remember Rick, always carry your own flag, not some nation's."

"I'll do that… Jethro?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you really think I can win it?"

"Your freedom? You're probably the most resourceful person I've ever met. You'll pull through just fine."

"Jethro?"

"What?"

"Are you real, or am I hallucinating?"

"That I can't answer. I could be real and you could be hallucinating at the same time, so that's something worth considering. For all you know, I could be a figment of your imagination, or maybe I'm just contacting you from beyond the grave. Who knows? This world doesn't ever make sense. But really… isn't that the best kind of world?"

"Yeah, the most beautiful too."

"Well, it's been good Rick. I've enjoyed our short time together. Keep yourself alive and remember what Billy once said, 'If I took every shot I thought I should, I would be dead man a long time ago.' Don't go overboard on everything Rick, it's dangerous. And please, learn to move on. No one likes someone who can't let go of the past."

They both laughed, "Yeah, sure, I'll do that. I've got to go Jethro. There's things I have to take care of."

Jethro looked past Rick and saw the ponies along with a naked woman lying on top of one, "What the fuck… Rick, can the dead get high or hallucinate crazy shit?"

Rick shrugged and looked back, "They're real. They've helped me out a bit."

"Well, I think I need to go back to playing cards with Lincoln and Washington. Oh, and return those other dog tags to their rightful families, okay?"

"Is Harris still alive? What about Vee and Al?"

"Hell if I know, I'm dead. Just give it to them when it's most suitable."

"I'll return them, don't worry. Well, don't lose all of your money playing with ex-presidents and congressmen."

"You know, you'd be surprised how underhanded and sneaky these guys are when it comes to card games. Makes you think what else they were sneaky at. And Lincoln is an ace at Texas Hold-Em. Not even joking here, Rick. This guy is something else."

"Yeah, sounds that way… Well, peace out Jethro."

"And a goodbye to you too, Rick."

With that, Jethro walked away while disintegrating into pieces of ash and paper being swept up in the wind. Rick sighed and walked back to the group.

"Let's head to one more place."

Celestia frowned, "You were making quite the commotion. Who were you talking to?"

"An old friend who gave me the advice I needed."

Luna leaned closer to Rick from atop Celestia, "A ghost?"

"He prefers the term 'anomaly'."

Rick began chuckling to himself as Celestia lit her horn, sending them to their next destination.

* * *

><p>After the lightshow wore off, the two humans and two ponies stood inside a dark room. Rick began fumbling around in the dark, trying to remember his way around. They heard him trip over something and fall hard on the ground followed by some foul-mouthed language.<p>

"That fucking coffee table somehow always manages to do that!"

He got up and brushed himself off while the other three stared into the darkness, waiting for Rick to turn on some kind of light.

"Hey, can't any one of you use your horn-doohickeys to give me some light?"

Luna attempted to use a spell, but was met by nothing.

"Oh, I can't use magic. That seems to be a slight negative to being human."

"Life's better with manual work, but this requires some actual light."

Celestia lit her horn up, filling the room with a bright light and irritating the eyes of everyone.

After regaining his sight, Rick began working his way around the room and towards the light switch. He flicked it and was met with absolutely no light. He began muttering to himself as he moved the coffee table to a corner of the room. Climbing on top of it, he pushed open a tile above him and climbed in.

Celestia walked over and looked up, "Where are you going?"

"I'm getting the power back on. You see that cupboard right there? By the shelf?"

Rick pointed to a wooden cupboard on the opposite side of the room.

"Yes, what do you need from it?"

"It's filled with Stream Batteries. Grab me two."

Celestia walked over to the cupboard and used her magic to open it. As she opened it, a faint glow emanated from inside. She quickly grabbed two rectangular objects and handed them to Rick. He used them to replace the drained batteries, which he set aside in the power area. He hit the reset switch twice, bringing the entire suite into light. A quite humming came from the power interface as Rick climbed down onto the table, replacing the tile. He pushed the table back into its spot and kicked it once.

He walked back to Luna, "Okay, let's get you some clothes. What are you looking for?"

"I'm sorry; I've never worn human clothes, so I wouldn't exactly know what to pick out."

"Just find something you like, all right? Come with me. Can you walk?"

Luna dropped off of Celestia and stood with shaky legs. She took a deep breath and began walking towards Rick. Luna smiled when she managed to get to him without falling once.

"Getting better Luna, now just follow me."

"All right, but please don't go too fast."

Rick grabbed Luna's hand and started towards another room.

Twilight called out, "Wait! What are we going to do?"

"Just sit on the couch and watch TV or something. It's the big black thing against the wall, and use the small grey thing on the coffee table to turn it on," Rick yelled back.

Luna and Rick made their way down a hall and into a bedroom. Rick sat Luna on the bed and opened a closet door, revealing what must have been Selene's clothing. Luna got up immediately and began examining the clothing, fixated on all the dresses, shirts, jeans, skirts and shoes filling the closet.

"They're beautiful! Where did you get these?"

Rick tapped the doorway nonchalantly, "They were Selene's."

Luna frowned while clutching a blue dress, "Is this okay? Should we really be looking through this?"

Rick chuckled, "Listen, its fine. Just pick something you like."

She held out the dark blue dress, "Well… I like this."

Rick looked at Luna's feet, "They match your shoes. Weird. Anyway, if that's what you like, go for it. Wear anything you'd like."

Luna fumbled with trying to get the dress on, not knowing how to work the back zipper.

Rick held in some laughter, "Uh, let me help you with this."

He could tell Luna was pouting from inside the dress, "I can handle it!"

"You need to put some other things on first, you know."

"Really? Like what?"

"A bra, some panties."

"What are those?"

"Let me just…" he lifted the dress off of Luna's head and placed it on the bed. Rick walked over to a drawer inside the closet and pulled out a lacy black bra and panty combo.

"How's this?"

"What are they?"

"You wear them under your regular clothes. Underwear, if that's the word you want to use."

"Why would I wear clothing under clothing?"

"Hygienic reasons for the most part."

"I see. What do you think of them?"

"Welllll, they may be a bit mature for you."

"Then I'll take them!"

"Of course you will. I suppose you don't know how to put these on either?"

"Can you demonstrate?"

"Hell no, do I look like a crossdresser?"

"A what?"

"Never mind. Just," he handed her the panties, "slip your legs through those."

Luna bent down and stuck a foot through the hole. She attempted to put the other in, but lost balance. Brought down quickly, she landed face first on the hardwood floor.

"Ow."

'Damn! Does she do this shit on purpose? That's pretty fucking cute when she does it.'

"Are you okay?"

Luna pushed herself up and sat down on the floor, making the process easier for her. After finally getting them on, she stood up and posed for Rick.

"Well?"

"Uhh…"

"What?"

"Nothing." He cleared his throat, "Now, there's this."

Rick went behind Luna and placed the bra around her breasts, which oddly enough fit well. He hooked it together from the back and turned Luna around.

"BAM! Now that's some sexy lingerie! And the model isn't that bad herself too."

Luna blushed and in an attempt to hide it, took the dress into her hands and felt the fabric.

'Such a weird ass day. I'm helping Luna get dressed and she was walking around naked like it was nothing. I wonder if ponies ever wear clothes…"

Rick snapped back in reality when he heard Luna's grunts from trying to get the dress on again. He couldn't help but chuckle at her helplessness, but quickly maintained his composure. He lifted it off her again, unzipped the back, and placed it on the floor. She stepped into it and he lifted it up for her to put her arms through the appropriate holes. After managing that, he zipped it back up again and stepped back a few feet.

"Okay, this is real good. Now, about those funky ass princess shoes you're wearing right now."

Luna frowned, "What's wrong with them?"

"I think heels would look better with the dress."

"We're going to transplant an animal's heels onto my feet?"

"What- No. Just wait here."

Rick went back into the closet and ducked down to sift through the endless mounds of shoes. He never did understand why women needed so many of them. It seemed like a waste of time to go and get so many while he only kept a few that kept style and swag in one combination.

'It's probably some kind of reflex or impulse to buy shoes when women see them. That would make sense.'

He eventually found a pair of blue heels that would match the dress. Plucking them out of the pile, he turned around and sat Luna back onto the bed.

"I wonder if these are your size. Well, can't hurt to try and see."

Rick took the extremely odd looking shoes off of Luna and replaced them with the heels. He stepped back again as Luna got up and curtsied in front of him.

"Well? How do I look?"

"Fantastic. Now try to walk."

"These shoes look dangerous…"

"Just try it."

Luna hesitantly took a step, and then another. She switched to a more brisk pace and circled the room, followed by Rick putting his hands to his head.

"What the hell is this?"

"What?" Luna asked in a tone of pure innocence.

He groaned, "You couldn't even walk before and now you're walking around like a runway model?"

She looked down at the shoes and clicked her heels, "I don't know, they just seem natural to me. They're kind of fun, albeit a little uncomfortable."

"Wow. This isn't completely ridiculous. Whatever, let's get some food, shall we?"

"Oh yes, I'd love some."

They both began walking out when Luna stopped.

"Hey Rick?"

He turned around, "Yeah?"

"Where are we?"

"My suite in Chicago. Want to see the view of the buildings?"

"There are windows? I didn't see any."

"They're covered by a special shielding in case someone finds out I live here and uses the windows as a means of attack. All I need to do is activate Rembrandt and get him to open the windows."

"Rembrandt?"

"The AI I use for this safe house. He's an asshole."

"I see… I didn't see anypony when we came in."

"He's an AI, you can't see him."

"I don't understand."

"He's like a fake person in a box, if that makes sense."

"I still don't understand."

"I'll explain later the intricacies of artificial intelligence and how they can become really bitchy. For now, let's go see what those two are up to and if there's any food to eat."

"Why wouldn't there be food to eat?"

"I don't usually carry food in the refrigerator."

"Why?"

"I don't know how long I'll spend at safehouses, so it would be stupid to buy food if its only use is to stink up the place when I leave it for months at a time."

"So then what would you have?"

Rick grinned, "Processed and preservative drenched food in cans."

"That doesn't sound very healthy."

A thought came to Rick after his stomach grumbled, "Hey Luna, seeing as though you're human… do you want to maybe try some meat?"

She looked at him in horror, "What? How can you ask that?"

Rick laughed, "You're human, it's only natural. If you don't any, that's fine. You're just missing out."

"I'm sure I am," Luna grumbled as they got back into the living room.

Rick spread his arms out as he walked in, "Presenting, the new and human Luna! Sadly, no more nakedness, only clothing."

Rick's smile fell when he looked around the room to find that the TV remote was lodged into the TV itself. The broken pieces of the screen littered the floor under it while Celestia lounged innocently on the leather couch, whistling.

"What the hell happened?"

Princess Celestia cleared her throat, "You see, this 'remote' wouldn't go into the 'Tea-vee'."

Rick sighed, "You're not supposed to put it into the-"

He stopped and looked around, "Wait, where's that one pony? Twigspite or something like that?"

Just as he completely botched her name, he heard what sounded like a small explosion come from another room. He took a deep breath and walked through another hallway to his work room. As Rick went through the door way, his eyes shifted to the pony by a workbench containing experimental fluids. His eyes widened in a mix of shock and anger as Twilight turned around to face him, her face covered in soot.

She laughed sheepishly, "Heh, sorry?"

He pushed her aside with more force than necessary and examined the vials she was messing with. One was filled with a blue, thick liquid, another with a murky, greenish liquid, and the farthest right contained a bubbling, yellow liquid. He ran his hand down his face in frustration as he grabbed the vials on opposite sides of the green liquid.

Rick held them in front of Twilight, "You see this?"

He lightly shook the blue vial to which Twilight nodded.

"This is stasis fluid. Do _not_ touch this stuff."

He held out the other one, "Now see this one?"

She nodded again.

"This is catasis fluid. This is _even more dangerous!_"

Twilight's face began twitching in anxiety as soot began falling off of her. Rick placed the two vials back and grabbed the one in the middle. He held it out for her to take a close look.

"This is the bastard child of both liquids combined. It isn't even supposed to exist, and it tries damn hard not to. You're lucky you didn't end up in a bigger explosion than that thing. There's an approximately one-in-ten chance that the explosion wouldn't be enough to kill you. You got lucky. Don't touch any of my lab equipment again, got it?"

Twilight, somewhat scared at his explanation, nodded in nervousness.

Rick pointed across the hall as he put down the vial, "That's the bathroom; wash that stuff of your face."

Twilight used her magic to open the door and stood on her hind legs at the sink. Too tall for her, he simply turned the faucet and magically splashed water on her face as Rick kept an observant eye on her. She turned off the water and trotted to a towel to dry her face. After finishing, she tapped a turned around Rick on the leg.

"Rick?"

He sighed and turned around, "Yes?"

"Were you a scientist before all of this?"

"I was an engineer, which these days is pretty much the same thing. So yeah, I guess you could say that I was a scientist. I still like to tinker around with things now and again, just to keep myself busy sometimes."

Her face lit up, "Did you ever make any kinds of advancements? How about any kinds of technology? Oh! What fields did you work in? Did you ever attend a university or did you teach yourself? Have you ever worked with other scientists? What kinds of things did you make? Do any of your invention-"

Rick crouched and put his hand to her muzzle, "Listen, I haven't done anything for the scientific community in a long time. At least, they didn't know I did. Here, come with me."

Rick stood up and began walking farther down the hall with Twilight behind him. After passing a few closed doors, Rick stopped at a plain white door.

"This," he pointed at the door, "is my study."

Rick turned the knob and opened the door to a decently sized room with walls lined with book-stuffed shelves. Twilight made a 'squee' sound as she looked up to Rick. He nodded, prompting her to run to the closest shelf and pulled out a book at random.

She lifted it into the air and read the cover, "'A Physics Guide for African Tribals: Fifth Edition. By: Harris Jackson'. What exactly is an 'African'?"

Rick rubbed the back of his neck in indifference, "Grab another book, that one is a little strong for someone who doesn't understand our Earth's geography."

"But I want to learn about your Earth!" she whined.

"Just put it back and grab another one. Trust me; you'll thank me for preventing you from reading _that_."

Twilight reluctantly put the book back and pulled a much larger book out. She blew the dust off the cover and read aloud the title, "The Outer Limits: Democracy and Self-Sovereignty Explained by Leading Politicians. By: Leonard Rugsman."

"Oh hell no. Pick another."

Twilight returned the book and took out a slightly smaller one.

"Hmong Birth Rituals. By: Avery Whiteman."

"Okay, try over there instead of this section. This one seem to be filled with shit I only read in bed, so it isn't very interesting."

Twilight set the book back into place and sidestepped to the shelf next to it. She checked a few spines to find anything interesting, getting nothing at first. She gave a light gasp when she pulled out a book and held it out for Rick to see.

"Let's see… 'The Collected Cultural Compendium. By: Arnoldo J. Perelli'. Why this one?"

"I want to learn about your kind!"

"What about our technology?"

"I think I should start from the basics."

"Suit yourself."

Rick turned around and began walking out the door.

"Uhh, Rick?"

He reluctantly turned around again, "Yeah?"

"Do you think… I can keep this book?" She gave a large smile and a look of someone thirsty for knowledge.

"You want it?"

She nodded.

"Go ahead, I've already got all of these stored on my PDA's."

"PDA's?"

"Little computers that can do a lot of things."

"What's a computer?"

"It's hard to explain. Think of it as a book that you can interact with and get to do stuff for you. But they're meant for humans, so I don't think those hooves of yours will work well with them."

Twilight looked at her front-right hoof self-consciously, "Rick?"

"What?"

"If you have all this technology, why don't you ever use it?"

"Because I don't need to. Trust me, if I wanted to, I could build weapons that would devastate your entire country and bring all of you to your knees. But I won't, mostly because I don't need to."

Frightened by the mental image of Rick standing over the rubble of Canterlot with a fiery background, Twilight shrank a little, "Could you really do that? You wouldn't do that, right?"

Rick chuckled, "Maybe if I had a reason to."

Twilight shrank even more, "What reason could you have to do that?"

"What's up with you? Why are you so scared of me?"

Twilight stared at him after asking such a dumb question, "You're talking about ending our country, why wouldn't I be scared?"

"Oh please! Do you know how many times my country gets threatened to be completely destroyed every day? Wait… I think I figured this out once… I remember one week we got a few thousand death threats…"

"A few thousand? How can you _not _live in fear?"

"There's no reason to."

She began calming down, "What do you mean?"

"We have people that prevent international disasters every second of every minute of every day. This is nothing new, Twilight. We're used to it."

"How can you be used to having your lives threatened?"

"It just becomes another thing you tend to ignore. That may sound a bit unsafe, but the world is perfectly fine for now."

"For now? As in something bad is going to happen?"

"Maybe. You never know." Rick turned around again and walked out the room. Twilight looked at the book's cover before following him back to the living room.

Rick rubbed his hands together, "Right, now let's get this goddamn window open."

He walked over to a terminal and hit a bright red switch labeled "RESET". The machine began whirring and coming to life as his fingers began tapping against the keyboard. He decided to get something to eat while the terminal booted up and walked over to a kitchen separated from the living room by a counter. He opened a pantry and pulled out a bright, yellow can. He placed it on the counter, grabbed a fork from a drawer, and pulled the top off the can.

He placed the top on the counter and walked into the living room again. Settling down on the couch, he looked at Celestia, who was eying the can.

Rick held it out for her, "Want some?"

Her eyes never came off the yellow can, "What is that?"

"Pineapple slices. They're tropically delicious."

She smiled, "I haven't had pineapple in over a hundred years."

Celestia lifted a slice out of the can and towards her mouth. Rick, worried that she may drip some juice on his couch, watched her take a bite. Her eyes widened when she tasted it, as she ate the rest of the slice quickly.

She didn't notice herself licking her lips, "That… was oddly delicious. That didn't taste like the pineapples we import in Equestria."

Rick took a bite from a slice, "Tastes normal to me." He handed her the can, "Here."

Princess Celestia took it with her magic, "Are you sure?"

He waved her off, "Bah, I was never much of a pineapple person. I'm going to find something else."

Rick got up and started walking to the kitchen again but stopped at the terminal. He pressed down on a single key and backed up. Celestia, Twilight, and Luna watched in curiosity as the walls near the terminal parted to make way for a large screen. It lit up a bright blue with an odd shape forming near the middle. Eventually, the shape formed into a circle inside an oval. After another moment, it became a closed eyelid that trembled until it opened, revealing a single, blue eye. The background turned white as the eye opened and closed itself a few times to test itself. When it seemed ready to itself, the large eye focused on Rick and spoke in a thick, western European accent.

"It's been too long, Master."

Rick smiled, "Rembrandt, how are you?"

Celestia, perplexed at such interesting technology, got off of the couch as she walked closer to the screen.

She looked at Rick, "Master?"

The eye rolled to her, "Did I say Master? I meant useless sack of meat. Excuse me for that mistake."

A nervous smile formed on Celestia's mouth as Rick clapped.

"You shitty calculator, you really need to work on your vocabulary."

"If _I _was a calculator, I wouldn't _have_ a vocabulary. I am a sophisticated and state-of-the-art artificial intelligence designed to monitor your safehouses and make sure you don't end up dead in your sleep. So please, do _not_ call me a calculator. It is insulting and rude to even _compare_ me to such ancient pieces of technology."

"You're talking about your ancestors, Rembrandt. Remember your roots."

The eye scoffed, "'Roots'. Such an uncultured word. If I had a circuit for every time that someone mentioned their-"

Rick hit the mute button on the terminal. They stared off for a few moments.

"Hey. Stop talking. Just open the damn windows, okay?"

Rick unmuted Rembrandt, "As you wish, Richard."

Rick grimaced, "Don't call me that. Only my mom ever called me that."

A low screech resonated from a wall to the left of them as what looked like the outer layer of the building separated in the same way the other wall did for the screen. Before he could see past the windows, Rick turned to the terminal and pressed a few keys. A small compartment opened on the side of it, showing a PDA identical to Tyrone's. He put it in his back pocket as he turned around to see Luna, Twilight and Celestia all looking out the window with their jaws down.

Rick's brow furrowed in confusion as he walked over, "What's the proble-"

He stopped as his eyes gazed out the windows. Rick's breathing became heavy as he fell to his knees and pressed himself against the window.

"Good god… What the hell happened?"

The two ponies, two humans, and the eye all stared out the window. Past the panes lied a once proud city in abandonment and partial destruction as the sun set behind the skyscrapers. While some buildings still stood, others littered and cut off streets below. The orange color hit the rotting corpses of humans near the streets and intersections, bringing them into full view. Rick swallowed. He began feeling an ominous feeling all too familiar with him: an indescribable mix of fear, grief, and shock. He began feeling that same feeling he felt back on Shephard's Island.

* * *

><p>Such is life in Chicago.<p>

Anyway, because I can't even listen to what I have to say, I managed to completely ignore that whole "write shorter chapters" thing. This chapter ended up being almost 25,000 words if I'm right. Next chapter will introduce a very interesting pair of survivors, which Rick will team up with for a reason I will not say. Other than that, expect some fight scenes and shit.

Because I think I should, I'm going to respond to a few specific reviews recently made.

Ozymandias the King of Kings- Chill bro, its a story. I'm writing this for fun, not to become a god of fanfiction writing. Also, good night to you too.

Shadowfire117- The last few chapters will end with Rick. Other than that, it'll be from the perspective of different characters who may interact with him.

A big congratulations to Dfletcherboyy, who got the wrong reference. Still, that was some pretty damn fine observing. Also, to clarify, it was the "I'm on my own dick" line that was the reference to "Power" by Kanye. Still, you picked up the better one.

An Unknown Poster of No Set Origin- When I first started Stasis, I just finished playing Dead Space again roughly a month before.

Unknown2615- Word, I need to fix that kind of shit.

John09- You don't really like FiM but you're reading fanfics about it? Fine by me.

AlucardHellgate- The protagonist thing is a joke, just like the Tobias one. And Rick is Eric, which are two names that stem from Richard (actually, Eric has something to do with Irish law apparently, but the "ric" remains there. Something to do with Germans and rulers or kings). And Tobias is going to become a major character in the later chapters. There's a reason he's referenced a fair amount of times.

In regards to sex scenes, they'll most likely never happen. I don't want Stasis to roll like that, because I personally like to avoid writing stuff like that. This ain't no clopfic, brotha. Well, I think that's just about it. I'm probably forgetting to type something as usual. Also, Mare Grylls will be a character one day, count on it. Thanks to the Anon who gave me that idea.

Also, Luna's face is impervious.


	17. Chapter 17

**Stasis**

**Chapter 17: One Minute Revelations, Guaranteed **

**By: Stillmatic**

* * *

><p>Rick watched as the sun set over the streets and buildings of Chicago. What was once a great city so full of life and variety was reduced to an empty shell of its former self. Nothing moved in the streets, and nothing seemed to change as the light from the sun finally gave way to the dark night. Street lights didn't seem to come on, nor did any lights for other buildings that were in view. In the dark, deserted city, only one bright light shone from the window of Rick's safehouse and into the vastness that crept all over and surrounded them. They were alone.<p>

* * *

><p>The end. This shit took me <em>weeks<em> to write. Don't expect the next update for another month.

If it isn't obvious (might not be) this is a joke. But that was actually the first paragraph from the chapter I was working on.

Stay Trilla.


	18. Chapter 18

**Stasis**

**Chapter 18: Homecoming**

**By: Stillmatic**

* * *

><p>Rick began pacing around the room, "I don't understand, what happened? This city can't have just died in only a month! I was just here a few months ago, and I come back to this? What the fuck happened?"<p>

He stopped and looked out into the streets again. He couldn't make out anything anymore, but there was definitely an eeriness as he gazed between buildings. A memory flashed in Rick's mind of seeing Shephard's Island at sunset. He shuddered and turned away from the window. He leaned against it and slid down to the floor with is head in his hands.

"It doesn't make sense… How could this have happened? This can't be happening. It isn't possible."

He turned his head around to confirm his fears. He was wrong. It was very much possible that what he was seeing was truly happening in real time. He got up, walked to Rembrandt's terminal, and began typing away as different prompts popped up on the screen. After a few minutes of investigation and digging through logs, he ran his fingers through his hair and exhaled.

Rick looked up to the screen, "Rembrandt, these logs don't make sense. It says you turned off unexpectedly and didn't start back up again."

"That's true. As I recall, you didn't bother changing the Stream Batteries on the generator for safety. There was what I'd consider a massive blackout in the city followed by my immediate shutdown. Due to there being no functioning generator, I couldn't possibly reboot and log information. You were careless Richard, and we've yet to figure out what exactly was the cost of that."

"What was your last date of functionality?"

"I believe it's in the logs you've just read."

"I want you to tell me."

The AI sighed discontentedly, "Of course you do… The last date recorded was March 21, 2205."

Rick stared at the monitor, "Impossible! I've only been gone for over a month, not eight years!"

"There has been a small discrepancy before that that may have affected my logging capabilities."

"What was it?"

"I was discontinued from the Agency's networks, the Internet, and all other outside sources at 5:52 P.M. on August 11, 2198. It's possible that there may have been some adverse effects, but nothing I can confirm as of yet."

"2198? I left for the Moon on July 8, 2197. That's over a year later… Rembrandt, is it possible that you may have been sabotaged?"

"I highly doubt it. Neither that door nor any other possible entrance has been opened in quite some time, according to the logs. It would be safe to assume that no one has in fact sabotaged this room, myself, or anything else in this specific safehouse."

Rick began pacing again, "So how is it your logs' dates aren't correct? What happened between the time that I was in space and when you were removed from the networks?"

"I can't say what happened after my removal, but it appears that the Agency was abuzz with gossip and rumors."

"What kind of rumors?"

"You supposedly disappeared out in space. There were no search parties, sadly. The mere cost of sending them into space outweighed you by huge amounts, and the Agency recognized that. According to the Agency Handbook, an agent, his properties, possessions, and any intelligence, artificial or physical, are to be removed from the system's networks following his or her confirmation of death. It appears they did such a thing on the same date I was effectively cut off from the outside world. Anything after that point is unconfirmed speculation."

Rick rubbed his forehead, "You're telling me that I've been gone for years? What happened on March 21, 2205?"

"I can't say for sure what happened due to that being the same date the blackout occurred, but before that time I've heard mostly gunfire and screaming. I merely considered it a normal day in Chicago, that is, until it became an everyday occurrence for quite some time."

"Gunfire and screaming? There are plenty of dead bodies out in the streets, and everything else is pretty much laid to waste. What was it though? What made this happen? Were we invaded?"

"I don't know. I haven't been operational in what seemed to be only a few seconds. I have no idea what time it is, nor do I have an idea what the date is."

Rick rubbed his tired eyes and sat on the couch again. The mere thought that he might have been away from Earth longer than a few months at most was enough to scare him. Before he knew, he thought it would all end up fine and with him back on Earth in the same year he left. But something happened, and that entire idea was corrupted to the point where it was useless daydreams. That wasn't a reassuring feeling, and it definitely coincided with what he saw outside of the window. There was destruction, corruption, and a city he didn't recognize. Something changed while he was gone, and it was up to him to find out exactly where things went wrong.

Luna sat next to him and watched as he cradled his head, leaning back against the couch. She couldn't possibly understand what he was feeling right now and most likely for the better. Luna knew Rick enough to see that he held his planet high, and the pride he must have carried for it must have taken a severe blow along with him. She didn't know what to expect when she looked out the window, but finding a dilapidated city emptied of all visible life didn't seem to be normal. But from what she saw, it didn't seem to have decayed with time. The buildings still held some kind of strength, and the various metal contraptions and shiny things on the street made it seem as though whatever had happened, it happened recently. Doing her best to console him, she reached out her hand towards him.

In one quick motion, his hand grabbed her arm midair as his face shot in her direction. When he realized what he was doing, the anxiousness in his eyes melted slightly. Rick let go of her arm and stared at the wall.

"Sorry. A bit nervous."

She rubbed his shoulder, "Its fine. Rick, how are you feeling right now?"

He slowly turned his head towards her, "Confused. Paranoid. Alone."

"You aren't alone."

His mouth twitched, "What?"

"You have us," she pointed at the two ponies standing near the coffee table. "We're here."

Rick looked out the window again, "But you don't know the severity of what I just found out. I've just seen something full of people be reduced to a husk. This was such a great city, not as great as NYC, but still a great one."

"Is everypony gone?"

"Maybe. I hope not."

"What about anywhere else?"

"Luna, I just came into this world at the same time as you. I haven't been here for years apparently, and that doesn't give me a lot of information to work with."

A small smile formed on her face, "Why don't you turn information you have into information you can work with?"

Rick turned his head back to Luna. He kept staring until he smiled and chuckled.

"You're learning a lot, aren't you?"

"Yes, now, how can we find out what happened to your city?"

"Hopefully," Rick got off the couch, "it was just this city. If the whole world was like this," he whistled, "I wouldn't know what to do. Seeing this has went beyond boggling my mind. I still can't believe this is actually happening."

"I can't understand how this makes you feel, but I'd really like to help. How can we find out?"

"I don't think we have enough time to actually find much out. We probably only have around ten to twenty minutes until we're pushed back to your world, right?"

Luna opened her mouth to speak, but Celestia cut in, "I don't think we'll need to worry about that."

Rick began tapping his finger against the terminal, "Why's that?"

Celestia sat at the couch, "I've manually extended our time here."

"Luna said we only had an hour at best."

"Twilight helped in establishing a magical 'bridge' between our worlds. We'll have roughly a few more hours before we're forced back. You should have enough time to find your answers and any other things you may need."

Rick stopped tapping, "Thanks. I really need to figure this out and I'll need as much time as possible."

Luna stood up, "It's nothing, really." She moved over to Rick and wrapped her arms around him from behind. She began whispering, "Tell me the truth. Are you afraid?"

He stood there silently as he contemplated and sifted through his feelings. He responded, "To know the truth? Yeah."

Luna tightened her embrace, "Don't worry, I'm here for you."

Rick still stared at a wall, "Thank you. You really don't need to Luna; this isn't something you should have to deal with. This is the stuff that gives people nightmares."

She removed her head from his back, "I think I can handle a few of those just fine, thank you."

Rick turned around and hugged her back, "You're amazing. I really don't give you enough credit."

Luna grinned, "I know. Now, maybe if we get some food in you, we can start you off well. Come on."

She grabbed his hand and pulled him into the kitchen. He saw the two ponies and large, blue eye stare at them as they left, but he couldn't care less. There was something oddly comforting about being with Luna, and he needed all the comfort he could get to keep him stable. A little dinner would help too.

"Now, where do you keep your food? In the fridge?"

Rick sat on a stool at the counter, "No, it's probably empty. The pantry should have some canned food. That's the only stuff that'll last three decades before becoming bad. There may be some packaged stuff like noodles."

"Plain noodles? Why would you want that?"

"You add the flavor with some boiling water and you pretty much have a noodle soup. Tastes pretty decent."

She opened the pantry doors, "Is that what you'd like?"

"Wait, do you even know _how_ to cook?"

"Well… no, but I can try!"

"I don't think th-"

Luna began grabbing random cans and bowls and cooking equipment from all over the kitchen. Laying them on the counter, she began checking what was contained in each can. Rick turned away for a moment to see what the ponies were up to. He leaned back and saw they were both talking to Rembrandt, who seemed more than eager to learn about a world full of ponies. Rick shook his head when he realized what he may ask them and vice-versa. An explosion occurred, scaring him off the stool and onto his back.

Rick placed his hand on the counter and pulled himself up slowly. When he was back on his feet, he watched as Luna turned around with a face covered in green mush. A can with the top exploded out lied on the stove.

"Luna… What did you do?"

"I put the pees on the stove so they would cook, but it exploded in my face!"

Rick grabbed a paper towel and wiped the pees off of her face. Luckily, nothing got on her clothing and no parts of the can flew into her.

"I don't understand, I just tried heating them."

"Did you try taking them out of the can first?"

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Once her face was clean, he threw the paper towels in the garbage and pushed her behind the counter.

"Let me make the food, okay?"

She smirked, "_You_ know how to _cook_?"

Rick pulled a knife out of a drawer and tossed it in the air. He smirked when he heard Luna gasp as it came down and landed in the hand he had behind his back. He didn't particularly like knife tricks, but if Luna seemed to like it, he might as well do it. He caught the knife one last time and placed it on the counter.

"Oh wait, I'm not even going to need this yet."

He put the knife back and began looking at what cans he had at his disposal. He reached into a cupboard under the counter and pulled out a large pot. After filling it with water, he began boiling it on the stove.

Luna tapped at the counter, "What is it you're making?"

"Some soup."

"Soup?"

"Yeah, soup. What do you like in your soup?"

"Carrots?"

"I probably have some canned carrots…"

Rick reached into the pantry again and pulled out a few miniature rectangles. He unwrapped them and dropped them into the water.

"What were those?"

Rick turned his head back as he began stirring, "Broth cubes. I don't have actual broth because that would spoil. These are just as fine though."

"Uhh, Rick?"

He sighed, "No, it's vegetable flavored. No meat."

She smiled, "Thank you."

As the water began boiling, he popped the tops off of three different cans. It was quite surprising to see what companies would be willing to can these days. Everything from turkey organs to sliced potatoes seemed to come in a can these days. He dumped a can of baby carrots into a strainer and set them onto a cutting board. With an expertise that comes with handling knives, Rick began swiftly cutting the carrots into tiny pieces. When he finished he dumped them into the pot and repeated the process for corn, potatoes, a little broccoli and some parsley.

"That's a bit of an odd combination of vegetables, isn't it?"

Rick shrugged, "My mom taught me to make this. It's not much, but it tastes fine."

He grabbed a bag of vacuum-sealed noodles and cut it open. Rick dumped them into the water as he began seasoning the broth. After some time, he turned off the stove and retrieved four bowls and spoons from a cupboard.

"Go call your sister and Foglight, all right?"

"Sure," Luna hopped down from the stool and left the kitchen.

Rick lifted the pot onto a heatpad on the counter and placed the bowls accordingly. He began filling each as Luna, Twilight, and Celestia all came back. Celestia was tall enough to stand at the counter, but Twilight was forced to sit on a stool.

She began wobbling on top as she reached onto the counter to steady herself, "This is kinda uncomfortable."

Rick sat down on a stool next to Luna, "You know, I remember seeing a pony that sat like a human in that village of yours. I bet she could sit on that thing easy."

Twilight began losing her balance again. Luckily, Celestia used a hoof to steady her before she hit the floor. Luna tasted the soup, but immediately dropped the spoon as it touched her tongue. She began panicking as she stuck her tongue out.

"OW! HOT! OW! OW! _OW!_"

Rick got up and pulled out glasses from the same cupboard he grabbed the bowls from. He reached into his refrigerator and pulled out a green bottle holding a purplish liquid. He uncorked the top and poured some into a glass as Luna desperately took it and downed it in one gulp.

Rick stared at her, "Huh. That was the strong stuff too."

Luna placed the glass down, "I thought you said you don't have anything in your refrigerator?"

"That was wine; it doesn't matter where it's at."

"W-w-wine? As in the kind you drink?"

"What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing! I can handle it just fine!"

"Are you sure? I mean, have you ever even _had_ wine before?"

"Of course!"

Rick turned his head to Celestia, who whispered in his ear, "She must really like you if she's willing to lie like that."

"You're one to talk. Liar-face."

"Excuse me?"

Rick sipped some of his soup, "Huh." He got up and walked over to a spice rack, picking out some salt. He gave a light tap on the shaker as some fell in, followed by a stirring. He tasted it again, "Much better."

Luna fell face-first onto the counter as she drifted asleep. Everyone in the room began staring at the completely random occurrence.

Rick got up, "Knew she couldn't handle it. And it was only one glass too."

Rick lifted Luna up in a bridle carry and took her into the bedroom. Removing the cover, he placed her inside and tucked her in. She was lightly snoring as he began staring at her. It felt all too familiar for a moment as an image of a bloodied Selene lying against the backboard flashed in his mind. He shuddered and walked out the room, only taking one more look before closing the door and heading back to the kitchen.

After all three finished, Rick began weighing his options and considering how he might find out what happened to Chicago. There was always the option of finding some kind of resource that was saved, like a newspaper or computer possibly. But that might take longer than he could afford, and time was of the essence. A quick scour of the immediate area followed by a little intelligence gathering would be the best bet to think over what happened. Then, there was knocking.

All four turned to the heavily locked door in unison. Designed to be as impervious to break-ins as possible, the metallic locks from inside the floor and walls still held in place. The knocking itself was creepy and slow, building up a tension that forced Rick to get up and press keys on Rembrandt's terminal.

He slammed his fist onto it, "Fuck! Why aren't the cameras working?"

The eye turned to him, "As I recall, a group of hoodlum spray-painted all the cameras for this building. The locks still work however."

Rick walked to the door and pressed himself against it, "Yeah?"

There was no response, but the same knocking stayed in beat.

"We don't want any cookies, so get the _fuck_ outta here!"

This time, there was a response, and in the form of a gunshot, specifically a shotgun blast. Rick dipped to the floor and made his way to the couch. He began rifling through the area between the top and bottom.

"Aha!"

Rick pulled out what looked like a Mac11, already loaded with dual magazines. He held it out and aimed down the sites to get accustomed. Pulling out the magazines, he checked them both before loading it back in. Satisfied, he crawled over to the door and listened to the audible speaking on the other side.

"Daddy, what was he doing?"

"Honey, please, make sure no one sneaks up on us. I have to see what this guy was up to."

Rick heard enough. He made the gesture for Rembrandt to open the locks and door. The locks didn't screech, but made a quiet shifting sound. The door flew open as Rick aimed his gun at whatever was in front of him. A body fell into the room, dropping to the floor in front of Rick. It was humanesque in structure, but lacked certain features. Instead, it was a highly changed humanoid creature that looked nothing like either him or Luna. Rick let it drop and continued over it. He aimed his gun to the right first, then the left. His eyes connected with the eyes of something else.

They both spoke in unison, "What the…"

They both aimed their weapons at each other, where Rick was obviously outgunned by a 12-guage. Rick took his eyes off of the creature's to see that it was actually a stallion, a unicorn to be exact. Brown in coat color and black in mane color, the apprehensiveness in its eyes dissolved slightly. Standing behind him was little, blond girl most likely no older than ten. The floating 12-guage slowly went down, but kept a clear shot at Rick, who in turn slowly lowered his Mac11.

The stallion eyed Rick from head-to-toe, "Who are you?"

"Who are _you?_ And what are _you_ doing on Earth?"

The stallion snorted, "I've been living on this planet for the past seven years."

Rick snorted back, "Bullshit! No way could a pony live on Earth that long without being caught, dissected, and examined."

"I have my ways of avoiding the government's eye. Well, that was until the government actually cared about anything other than themselves."

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

The stallion put his hooves over the little girl's ears, "Hey! Watch your mouth around my kid!"

"Your kid? She's human!"

"So?"

"She can't be yours if she's human! That isn't possible!"

"She's disguised as a human, obviously."

"Wait, what?"

"Listen, I don't have time to explain this, I gotta go."

The stallion used his magic to lift the little girl onto his back as he tried moving past Rick. Rick blocked him off.

"I want answers first."

"We're going to be swarmed by them in a few minutes and you want to talk? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"'Them'? Who's them?"

The stallion sighed, "The infected! Who else?"

"Infected? What are you talking about?"

The stallion looked around uneasily, waiting for something to pop out, "Are you being serious right now? I don't have time for this!"

The stallion pushed past Rick, but when his eyes moved to inside the room, he stopped abruptly.

"What…"

He stared at Celestia, who simply stared back.

The stallion turned back to Rick and stomped his hoof to the ground, "What the _hell_ is she doing here? She doesn't belong here!"

Rick turned to Celestia, who seemed just as confused as him, "Uhh, neither do you. Sentient ponies don't exist on this planet, sooo… what the hell are you doing here?"

Out of seemingly nowhere, an ear-piecing screech resonated from down the hallway. Rick covered his ears and looked past the stallion and his human "daughter". A malformed and twisted creature not too different from the one that fell into his safehouse used its wide jaws to scream at such a high capacity that it forced all of them to recoil. The stallion opened his backpack and put a pair of acoustic earmuffs on his daughter's head. He quickly pushed her into the room as Rick tried focusing to take aim at the mutated, screaming individual. Rick had the mutant in his sights, but the high frequency and high impact screeching disrupted his ability to see clearly. He felt himself slowly lose consciousness as his vision darkened and his body slumped against a wall.

Rick woke up a minute later, and inside of his safehouse. He opened his eyes to see that Twilight was staring at him. Startled, his upper body shot up as he looked quickly around the room. Finding no mutant and no Mac11 in his hands, he got up and rubbed his head.

"God, what the hell happened?"

"You were subdued by the sonic emissions from that mutant. It's one of the few that choose to eat things that are alive."

Rick turned around to see the stallion from the hallway resting on the couch with his daughter. His body position was that of a human relaxing, and seemed faintly reminiscent of a pony Rick saw in that one town.

"Okay, you're in my safehouse, now who the hell are you?"

"Is that how you're going to treat the guy that saved you?"

"'Guy'? You're a pony, not a 'guy'."

"Hey, give me some credit here. I've been living with you for seven years, so I think I know the lingo here."

Rick got up and walked to the coffee table, "That can't be possible, because you have no way of getting on this planet."

"I came here with my wife by accident. We were traveling near Stalliongrad and we found a portal thing. A Manticore ended up finding us, so we ran into it. We ended up in what I think was northern California. Anyway, my wife was already seriously injured, so when she started to have contractions, I had to step up. I delivered our baby fine, but my wife didn't survive… Since then, me and my daughter have been living in America, trying to get back to a state of normalcy."

Rick didn't say anything for a moment, "That… sounds like a load of bullshit. Did you rehearse this or something?"

The stallion shrugged, "I tend to tell this story more often than I like. Now… how about you?"

Rick narrowed his eyes, "Me? What do you need to know?"

"Who are you? You seem… uninformed."

"I just got to this planet, of course I'm uninformed."

"You _just_ got to this planet? What does _that_ mean?"

"I was on the other Earth, in Equestria."

The jaw dropped on the stallion, "_What?_ That can't be possible!"

"Yeah, I was there for like, a month. Now give me your name."

The stallion shook his head as if dispelling thoughts, "John. John Doe. And this is my daughter," he pointed a hoof at the little girl, "Tanya."

"John? That's a human name."

"I gave up all that pony name and Cutie Mark bullshit when I realized that it didn't do shit for me."

Rick's interest was piqued, "You gave them up?"

Twilight moved to John's side, "It's true, he doesn't have one. But all ponies have their Cutie Marks by this age…"

The stallion glared at her, "I renounced it after I came here. It did nothing to help me survive and I'm glad I did what I did."

Twilight didn't know how to respond to that. It seemed to her that a Cutie Mark was an irreplaceable thing that defined who you were, and your meaning in life. To see a grown stallion without one, and with him supposedly "renouncing" it, conflicted with how she understood them. In school, fillies and colts were taught that Cutie Marks were an important part of pony life, so how could a pony without one have a functional life?

"Why would you…"

"Get rid of it? It only hindered my ability to adapt to a harsh environment. When I did get rid of it, new doors opened up for me. My magic wasn't limited to just my profession anymore, and it was the most breathtaking experience I ever felt. I started to understand what humans felt with their lives. It was freedom."

Rick studied the brown stallion, "So… you're emulating humans?"

"Of course. They're much freer to choose their lives than ponies, and that's something that I didn't realize I envied until I actually experienced it. Really, though, are you going to tell me your name?"

Rick thought it over for a few moments. Here was this pony who claimed to have renounced his poniness in favor of being human? It didn't seem to make sense, but it was oddly flattering to know that a pony envied humans. There was almost a relation between them that made Rick actually feel like he was talking with a real person, who knew _real things_ about the _real world_. It was an interesting situation, to say the least.

"Rick."

"Rick…?"

"Vali."

John stopped, frowning deeply. He stared deeply at Rick and shook his head.

"No. That isn't possible… But… Were you a soldier?"

"Soldier? No, I was an agent. I was on a mission to start a colony on the Moon when shit started to hit the fan."

John gasped, "No! You can't be _the _Rick Vali, can you?"

Rick began tapping his finger against the wall behind him, "What are you talking about? What you mean 'the Rick Vali'?"

"Man, you're famous! A few years before I got to this planet, a guy working for the government was sent to the Moon to start a colony! They say he was killed by the Chinese SLSDS-"

"The satellites?"

"Yeah! Then the government recognized you as a national hero, released your mission file, and then there was another Cold War with the Commune."

"National hero? I'm not even considered a legal citizen. And why would they release my file, it has the kind of shit that would ruin them."

"What are you talking about? It listed all those missions where you prevented global disasters in Africa and Asia, and those times you stopped those terrorist groups near Australia."

"What? Is that all they said?"

"Isn't… that it? That's all that was in the files."

"How did you get the files?"

"Anyone can get them. They're all over the Internet, libraries, and other information resources. Is there something I'm missing here?"

"Yeah, if what you're saying is true, the U.S. government was using my supposed death as a political scheme to get public support for something. They used me as a figure and only released the good parts of my file."

"The good parts?"

"Did they mention all the killings I took part in? Or maybe the genocides I had a hand in? What about Shephard's Island? Did they mention that?"

"What are you talking about? You've never done that stuff!"

"How would you know? The world didn't know about me when I left on that mission, so how do they now? Because the U.S. is controlling the information the public is getting access to."

John stared glumly as his daughter, "So… none of that was true?"

"It was. They just cut out the bad parts."

"Oh. You know, a lot of people looked up to you after that. You became a political and marketing orgy."

"Figures. Using a person's death as a means to make lodsemone…"

"They can't keep their hands off the dosh…"

They stared at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter.

Rick tried to calm himself down. "Alright, alright, let's get this figured out. Now what happened to Chicago?"

"Same thing as the rest of the major Mid-West cities. They were flooded by the mutants and annihilated."

Rick waved his hand, "Wait, wait, wait. The mutants? As in the kind on Shephard's Island?"

"Never heard of that place. But these things came around roughly… five years ago? Something about soldiers all over the world getting sick and turning. They were pretty quick in infecting nearby cities around the world. Over time, it eventually built up to a higher amount capable of devastating battlefields. Guns worked on them, but America didn't really mobilize fast enough to combat the threat. It seemed like every soldier mutated from the virus or whatever this thing is. Eventually, life just became normal when having to deal with these things. They're all around the world, hiding out and waiting for the next time to attack. Most people living outside the cities, which are more like impenetrable fortresses now, salvage technology, weaponry and whatever else they can get their hands on that the government will pay a pretty penny for."

"Is that what you do to make money?"

"I will on occasion, here and there. Still, it's hard to make money and find food sometimes."

"You're seriously having trouble getting money?"

John looked at Rick curiously, "Yeah, who doesn't?"

Rick cleared his throat, "I think I got something you might like."

A wide grin crossed his face as the stallion across from him simply looked at him confusedly. Rick moved to a wall near the broken TV and pressed into it. A part of the wall sank in, revealing a closet that ran up to the height of the room. He stepped in and pulled out a briefcase, then tossed it onto the coffee table, making a loud thud.

"Go ahead. Open it. It's yours now."

John looked at him nervously before unlatching the black briefcase. As he opened it, his jaw fell in utter amazement. Lying before him in stacks were countless bills ranging from hundreds to twenties, all clean and crisp.

"W-w-wha-"

"Like it?"

"Is- is this for real?"

"Real money, real deal. It's yours."

The pony looked at Rick in astonishment, "How much is in here?"

Rick smiled, "Around a hundred."

"_A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS?"_

"Yep."

"Why- why are you giving me this much money?"

Rick rubbed his beard, "Why, do you need more?"

He got up and began dumping out over a dozen other similar briefcases from the closet, all of which contained a good amount of money.

"Where did you get all of this?"

"This? This is what I like to call 'sneaker money' or 'watch money'. You know, buy a good pair of kicks or a nice timepiece for a hundred stacks. I usually keep a million and a half U.S. dollars in each safehouse."

"I-I don't understand! Why are you giving me so much money?"

Rick chuckled, "I don't need it. Plus…"

The unicorn bobbed his head sideways, "Plus?"

"Plus, you're pretty human. I like that."

The unicorn gave a genuine smile, "Thank you. That's the best compliment I've ever received. And for the money too."

"Yeah, well-"

Rick was cut off by a low, growling sound. The eye, the human, and the three ponies all looked at the little girl, who was rubbing her stomach. She looked up to her dad, with the earmuffs still snuggly fitted onto her head. The unicorn lifted the earmuffs off her head and back into his backpack.

Rick smiled, "What's wrong, hungry?"

The little girl nodded, "Yes."

Rick pointed to the kitchen, "There's some soup in there for both of you, help yourself."

John glanced over to the kitchen, "There isn't any-"

"Meat? No."

John gave a evaluating look to Celestia, then somehow managed to cross his right leg over his left one, "Ya' know, I've been trying to see if ponies are able to consume meat of other creatures. Yeah, yeah, I know, that's weird, right? Well, it got me thinking, what if ponies _could_ use the tissue of other living things as sustenance?"

Twilight began twitching slightly in horror. The thought of a _pony_ eating another living being was enough to upset anypony's stomach.

Celestia gasped, "How could you possibly even _consider that?_ You're a pony! Not some carnivorous beast like a Manticore!"

John uncrossed his legs and pointed a hoof at the sun princess, "Shut your mouth!" The room fell silent as all eyes were placed on John, "_You're_ a princess, _you've_ never went hungry before! _You've_ never had to struggle to survive against hunger and the cold! _You've_ been treated to whatever you wanted all of your life! So don't you even goddamn _dare_ to criticize me for considering it! You don't know what we go through every," he retrieved the earmuffs and put them back on Tanya, "fucking day just to come out alive! I'm glad that I ended up here! At least now I know what I was missing all that time in that complete load of crap you call your 'country'! God! I can't stand you, your ponies, and all that goody-goody bullshit you instill into your citizens! Because of that, my life was made all the more harder when I got here!" He placed his hooves on his lap and looked down, "I'm finally free now… I can understand what it was you _really_ took away from us… You took away the things only humans had to offer. True choices. True emotion. True freedom… All taken away from them," he pointed at Twilight, "and I've taken mine back. So don't you even _consider_ criticizing me, because you're just… a tyrant hiding in a pony's skin."

There was an awkward silence as both Celestia and John stared at the floor. Twilight glared at him for what he said, but the words slowly began seeping in.

'How can he say things like that to the Princess? It isn't her fault that he's been down on his luck, so why is he blaming her? And he hates us because we're us? How does that make sense?'

Twilight tried to muster the confidence to confront him, but began stuttering instead, "H-hey! Y-you can't talk to the Princess like that!"

John glared at her again, this time crumbling all the confidence and defense that she put up. She slowly began backing up and shrinking while he only kept his spiteful gaze on her. Twilight jumped into the air when a hoof stomped down in front of her, making a thunderous clap against the floor. She looked up to see Princess Celestia, emboldened and fierce by the menacingly hateful stallion's words and actions.

"Do _not_ speak to me like that! And don't _you_ dare attack us for your own problems!"

John got off of the couch and slammed a forehoof on the coffee table, "OR WHAT? YOU'RE GOING TO DO SOMETHING? HUH! COME ON BITCH! DO SOMETHING!"

Celestia took a stance, lit her horn, and began hoofing at the ground, ready to charge if necessary.

"Do not incur my wrath! I can end you with only one spell!"

John's horn lit as well as his shotgun drifted to Celestia's temple, "Hah! Magic is obsolete compared to human technology! By the time you cast the spell, I'll have killed you with only one squeeze of a trigger! Your brains'll end up scattered all over the goddamn room!"

They both stood their ground as the tension raised. Neither was willing to give up the chance to end the life of the other if it came down to it, but the slightest chance that when one lowered their defenses and was attacked fueled their paranoia and stress. The situation quickly defused when they both took their eyes away from each other as loud clapping came from the couch. They both looked at a grinning Rick, who was sitting by a hungry Tanya.

"Brav-fucking-o. This," he spread his arms to represent the scene, "was truly an amazing piece of work. I mean, that was the most interesting social encounter that I've ever seen. A pony who realizes what he's been missing out on from the pony world lashes out against the oppressive princess who doesn't even realize what she's doing wrong! Amazing! John, you're a real piece of work. I hoped I'd one day find a pony as cool as you, and here you are. And Celestia, the way you stomped down and stood up to what he was saying was intense! And don't even get me started on the sexual tension between you!" Both John and Celestia felt their faces turn red, "It's like you guys just want to start doing that shit right on the coffee table! Shit! I think I need a glass of wine now…"

Rick lifted up Tanya and took her to the kitchen as John, Celestia, and Twilight began staring at them. John sighed as he walked over to the kitchen to get some of Rick's soup, tired from the recent events. Celestia did the same and sat back down on the couch with Twilight.

John walked into the kitchen as a smell wafted to his nose, "Hmm, what is _that_?"

Rick began pouring some soup into two bowls, "Soup."

John looked at the bowl, "That looks more like a stew with how much stuff is in there."

"It has noodles, therefor it is a soup."

John shrugged, "Fine by me." He looked over to Tanya, who was eating with the acoustic earmuffs around her neck. He chuckled a little and sat down next to her. Rick watch in slight amazement as John seamlessly got onto the stool and sat up perfectly fine.

"Damn, you really to like to emulate humans, don't you?"

John sipped some soup, "Why not? They're pretty good."

"Yeah, well… tell me about what's been happening on Earth."

"Same thing every day. We go out, we try to make our way east, we stop to eat, we go again, we eat again, we find a place to sleep."

"Why east?"

"Rumor has it that the infection hasn't hit that part of the U.S. very hard like the rest of the country. Admittedly, the mutant attacks are starting to wind down a bit, but you can't be too safe."

"Huh. Hey… how exactly is your daughter human?"

John put do his spoon, "You see, most of the time, mutants aren't willing to attack ponies-"

"Wait! There are more than just you?"

"Yeah, there has to be because the portals lied just about everywhere. They connect to portals here on Earth supposedly."

"Here? I don't remember there being any."

"It's actually very recent, possibly the past year. Anyway, the mutants don't bother with ponies, but humans will just throw them in a frenzy usually. But humans can be just as dangerous, ya' get me?"

"People are attacking other people?"

"Exactly. Bandits, thieves, corrupt military and police. They all want a little money from everyone, even if it means a dead body to deal with. So they can be just as dangerous as mutants."

"So why is your daughter human than?"

John frowned, "There's a bit of speciesism or racism or whatever between certain groups. Some humans kill ponies on sight, some ponies kill humans on sight, and some just try to live together. It's oddly…"

"Human?"

"Right. So what I did was magically change my daughter into a human. We don't run into many mutants, and if we do, they're usually pretty easy to take down. But humans wouldn't be willing to kill a little girl this cute, so she's safe from both sides."

"She is cute, but I don't think you should rely on just that."

"What do you mean?"

"Teach her how to shoot."

John stared at Rick, "She's seven, not eighteen."

"So? I fired my first gun when I was eight. Admittedly, I ended up falling over, but that's part of learning how to use them."

John shook his head, "I-I can't stand the thought of her holding a gun and ending someone's life. She shouldn't lose her innocence like that."

"She's going to have to eventually, and you know that. Let's say you end up getting killed, who's going to defend her now? She can't defend herself because you didn't teach her to shoot, and she probably couldn't run away from many things."

John stared at Tanya, then sighed, "You're right… I should trust your judgment."

Rick chuckled, "Why's that?"

"You are a hero, ya' know."

"Pfft, to who? Little kids?"

John hoofed at the tiled floor, "Well… you know. People."

Rick narrowed his eyes, "Wait… don't tell me you…"

"I do. Man, the stories they say about you, amazing! Did you really prevent the nuclear strike those Albanian terrorists were going to do?"

Rick scratched his beard, "That was a long time ago. Probably four years ago. Uhh, before I left for the Moon."

"So fourteen years ago?"

Rick stared at John, "F-fourteen? Fourteen _years?_ I've been gone for a decade? WHAT THE FUCK!"

Rick began pacing around the kitchen with his hands on his head. John and Tanya stared at him, not entirely sure if the conversation should continue. John put the earmuffs back onto Tanya's ears and tapped his hoof on the counter.

"Hey."

Rick stopped moving, but kept staring blankly at a wall, "What?"

There was a faint tone of nervousness in John's voice, "Well… it's just that I think we can help each other out here."

Rick turned to him, "What are you proposing? Sending me back in time so I can stop myself from getting on that rocket?"

John shook his head, "No, I can't do that. The last time I did that for someone they ended up going five minutes ahead."

"So?"

"Their body couldn't handle the energy. They were completely vaporized except for a few bones and parts of their clothing."

Rick leaned against the counter, "Oh… So what are you proposing?"

"You want information about what happened right?"

"Yeah, can you provide it?"

"Well, when I came here, I met a guy."

"A guy?"

"Yeah. His name was Markus and he pretty much saved our lives twice. The point is, when he died in my hooves, he gave me this," John pulled a PDA out of his backpack, "and told me to continue his life's work."

"Life's work? Documenting?"

"Yup. He's been recording information from every terminal and information kiosk that he's passed by. He's recorded almost every single book you can find in America, the National Archives, almost every U.S. bureaucratic agency, and even parts of the White House's files. The memory isn't even half way filled yet, too."

"So he's an information packrat. And you're continuing that for him?"

"Right, and I've been collecting information on every recent event since then. Including how this whole ordeal got started. So what I'm thinking is I'll let you copy my information onto your PDA in exchange for a service."

"What kind of service are we talking about here?"

"You see, when you lit this building up, pretty much everything wanted to check it out, including the mutants. It was the only light in the entire city after sunset and you just brought a good part of the mutated here. They're surprisingly curious, and when they see you, they're going to start going apeshit. I need to get out of the city as quick as possible and head east, so I'm going to need a way out protected. You up for it?"

"Just hand me your PDA and we got a deal."

John rifled through his backpack again and handed Rick his PDA. Rick got up and hooked the PDA into Rembrandt's terminal. After pressing a few keys, the screen lit up with a prompt. He hit "Yes" and the files quickly went into Rembrandt's hard drive. Rick unplugged John's PDA, plugged his in, and carried the files over once more onto his. After about a minute, Rick pulled the cord out of his PDA and put it into his back pocket.

"Got those Rembrandt?"

The eye sighed, "Of course."

"Right, now let's… Hmm, Rembrandt, you're coming with me."

Rembrandt's eye shifted to Rick, "Excuse me?"

Rick reattached the cord and began typing at the terminal again. After clicking "Yes" at a few pop-ups, Rembrandt began transferring directly to Rick's PDA. After another minute, Rembrandt was now residing inside a much smaller piece of hardware.

"Why did you do that? It was highly unnecessary."

"Your ass is going to record information, ight?"

"Oh. Well, what exactly are we going to need to record information for?"

"To get down everything we possibly can before we're sent back to the other Earth. Then, we can piece stuff together and find out what the hell really happened."

Rick unplugged the cord and returned to the kitchen where John and Tanya were finishing their soup. Rick placed John's PDA on the counter and slid it to him.

"We have a deal, John."

John smiled, "Good looks. Now I hope you know some way of getting out of the city or this building for that matter."

"I got a car in the garage, you can take that."

He sighed, "We're going to have to fight our way all the way down there? That's too dangerous for all of us."

"Don't worry about your daughter, she's staying here with them," Rick pointed at the two ponies sitting at the couch, "and when we get down there, you'll just teleport her to us. Now, how many of these things are we talking about?"

John looked up and began counting off numbers in his head, "Eh… 'round a hundred?"

"Damn!"

"That's actually _really_ low for a major city. We're lucky it isn't in the thousands."

"Shit, we're going to have to get this done quick. Wait, why can't you just teleport us down there?"

"That takes a shitload of energy to do, and I probably wouldn't have the strength to bring all three of us down there. Tanya, she's small, so she shouldn't be a problem. But a grown man and a stallion aren't going to be easy."

"Better start getting strapped then."

Rick got up and walked into the living room. John turned to his daughter and removed the earmuffs, "Wait here honey, okay?"

"Yes, father."

John frowned, "Don't say that, it makes me feel old. Who even taught you to say 'father'? You've never said that before."

The little girl giggled as John followed Rick into the living room.

"So, you have weapons? What kinds?"

Rick stopped at a blank wall and pointed at it, "Mostly antiques."

"Antiques?"

"Yeah, like that Mac11 that somehow disappeared. I collect vintage weapons, and I usually keep them here."

"What the hell are vintage weapons going to for us? They'll probably explode in our faces for all we know. Those things are what, a hundred years old?"

"More like two hundred. And I got one 'modern' gun, if it makes you feel better."

"What?"

"The prototype Krieger/Bower's HI Assault Rifle. Well, it was new in my time, but it's still pretty recent."

"Uh, no thanks."

Rick stared at him, "What's wrong with it?"

"Those were recalled after the first batch was distributed."

"What for?"

"It was known to misfire, jam, and not agree with the identity locks. The newer ones were pretty decent, but I doubt you have that."

"So I pretty much have a pile of scrap? I didn't even get to fire it."

"You have other stuff, right?"

Rick responded with a strong kick to the wall next to him. Part of his leg stuck through the wall as he pulled it back, dropping bits of drywall on the hardwood floor. Celestia and Twilight turned their heads to stare at the human breaking down parts of the wall for seemingly no reason whatsoever. They got up and examined the ever-growing hole with intrigue. Past the wall was what looked like another metallic door, locked heavily by rods reaching from the floor, ceiling, and wall. Near it on the wall was a dirtied keypad covered in dust. Rick the cleared the area around the door, then brushed himself and the keypad off.

"Let's see if I can't remember what the… KYA!" Rick punched the keypad with all the force he could muster. Nothing happened, "Shit. Well I guess I'll have to actually press it in. Seven-One-Nine-Five."

He pressed the appropriate buttons on the keypad, then stepped back as the door's locks disengaged. He stuck his hand on the latch of the door and pulled it open to reveal a white room lit by fluorescent lights. While the room itself was modest in size, what was held inside was completely opposite. All of the walls were lined with shelves which held different weapons of different points in time, along with other items that anyone wanting to survive in the seemingly fallen world would want. From ballistic helmets and armored vests to handguns and rocket launchers, the room was emanating a faint feeling of protection, and ironically, impending death.

John's jaw dropped, "My god… They're beautiful…"

Rick leaned against the doorway, "There's enough shit in here to start World War Four again. I usually never use this stuff, but it isn't going to really be of use to me seeing as though I'm probably never going to come back here. So, in other words, take whatever the fuck you want."

John looked up at him, "Seriously? You're just going to give me guns?"

"Oh yeah, it's your right."

They both spoke in unison, "Second Amendment."

Staring at each other for a few moments, Rick broke the silence.

"I was doubtful at first, but you're pretty decent. You're welcome to whatever you need from my safehouses."

"You have more than just this one?"

"All over the country. I've uploaded the coordinates, addresses, and keys to your PDA when I had it, along with my real mission log."

"Why would you give me that?"

"Someone should know the truth, and you already collect information so it seemed fitting."

"You want people to know that you've done more than just freedom missions? Won't that make you less of a hero in their eyes?"

Rick frowned, "I never asked to be a hero. I never was one, and I never will be. That's the way it ought to be, in my opinion. Besides, I don't want people to believe in me because they only heard half the story. They should hear the whole thing and then decide on how they feel about what I did. If I'm still a hero, fine, they've proved they can't understand what I've done. If they hate me, they've probably made the right choice."

John tapped his hoof on the floor with some kind of tenseness, "Do you really want that? It could ruin you."

Rick chuckled, "Before this, I wasn't even known to the general public. So then, what's to ruin? A half-truth put out by the U.S. to try and turn my supposed death into some kind of act of martyrdom? They weren't even willing to send anything to look for me, then covered it up by saying the Chinese used their laser satellites to kill me. That kind of political tactic could start another war with the Commune if China decides to prove the U.S. wrong. They don't like to be made the scapegoat, and they try damn hard to get back at whoever pins them. So, really, what's the point in the world not knowing what I've done? It'll probably help the stability of Earth's governments at the cost of my ego, so it should be done. If you want, just hold onto it, but I recommend you put it out there and release it to the media or something."

John turned his eyes to the ceiling for a moment, "Ya' know, you're really something else. Of all the people I've met in my time here, you're one of the very few who would probably be willing to do that. Holding truth over personal ego and fame must be tough. Why bother doing that?"

"Someone should always know the real truth. Someone should make sure it isn't corrupted and tainted by people who want to abuse it for their gain. I know how hard it is to find the truth, so I'm willing to help others get to it too. Besides, everyone has a right to the truth."

The brown stallion looked back at the man across from him, "You may not be what they made you out to be, but you're still a pretty decent person to me. These days, that's saying something."

Rick idly knocked against the wall, "Well, let's get this started then. Pick out your choppa and some armor."

"What kinds of stuff do ya' got?"

Rick gave a look at him, "Wait, can you even wear human clothing? Or armor for that matter?"

John placed his backpack on the floor and removed a turtleneck sweater. With some kind of practiced hoof, he managed to put his neck and arms through the appropriate holes. He used a hoof to adjust the neck, then stood up on one of his hind legs with the other crossed over while leaning against a wall.

"Sup?"

Rick's eyes narrowed, "I don't recall you having that, but your turtleneck… it's familiar."

John stopped leaning and got back down onto all hooves, "I get that a lot for some reason. I have a coat too, if that matters."

Rick looked over John, "Your ass isn't covered though, so doesn't that get cold?"

"Normally I'd be questioning why someone like you would be checking out my ass, but I think I'll answer your question instead. I deal with it for the most part. Finding jeans or pants that can fit to our body structure is next to impossible, so I'll usually just use my coat to cover me up when I get cold."

"Your kid didn't seem to have a problem with all those goddamn sweaters and jackets too. And that toque, why the toque?"

John chuckled, "Don't knock the toque man, that's what tough guys wear."

Rick rolled his eyes, "Yeah, okay. So, can you get a PCV on? Or do you need hel-"

Rick was cut off when Twilight fell over the doorway and into the room with an 'oof'. Both John and Rick stared at her, wondering why the hell she was falling down. Unlike Luna, who's face seemed to be gravitationally attracted to hard floors, Twilight landed on her jaw.

"Ow…"

Celestia stepped over and into the doorway, "Twilight, are you alright?"

Twilight opened her eyes and looked up to the Princess, "I'm- I'm fine, Princess, I think I just tripped over something."

Rick, John and Celestia looked over Twilight to see that a piece of the bar-lock was still jutting from the floor, just enough to trip a careless passerby. Both of the guys began snickering to themselves as Celestia glared at them. Celestia used her magic to lift Twilight back to her feet and away from the doorway. She rubbed her jaw for a moment before turning back to Rick and holding out the book from earlier.

"Rick, do you have a translated version?"

Rick stared at her, "Are you serious? I doubt anyone knows your language, so why would I have a version of it?"

Twilight pulled the book back and stared at the floor, "Oh. Never mind then…"

Rick sighed and ran a hand down the side of his face, "Okay, listen closely. Go to Rembrandt and speak to him about registering your language in the database. This'll help both of us in the future, but at least you'll be able to translate the pages. He may scan your head and shit; if decides to, let him. When he has your language down perfectly, it'll be stored for human use et cetera, et cetera. Then, grab a translation tool from my side table in the study. It should be inside next to the corncob pipe. When you have it, take it to him and connect the cord to it. He should be able to give you a translated version of every book you need using the vocabulary stored in your brain. That means it may not come out exactly come out perfectly translated, because you don't seem to be a dictionary for your language. You won't be needing the book anymore, because the Trans-Lan will already have it stored with others in your language. If you want to keep it, go ahead, doesn't matter to me. If you want to use it to learn our language, I'm fine with that. So… did you get everything?"

Twilight nodded, "Do you really have technology that can do that though? How does that work?"

"Sorry, I wasn't the one that developed it, so I couldn't tell you. I really never focused on making technology when I was an engineer; I was usually turning anything I can find into something useful. I one time made a bayonet using part of a clothing line, a shard of a radioactive nuclear shell, and a piece of gum. The radiation wasn't that bad though, surprisingly…" Rick realized something and shook his head, "Wait a goddamn second, how the hell did you read the titles and names on the books if you don't know our language?"

Twilight looked up to him innocently, "What? All I did was use my magic to translate it in my head."

"So why don't you do that for the entire book?"

She smiled, "Well I can't just do it for the entire book while reading it, that would take too much energy and I didn't want it to have to come to that in case you might have had a way to translate it."

"Well, just go do what I said and tell Rembrandt to upload all information to John and me."

Twilight trotted away, making sure not to trip on the bar again, "Thanks!"

John stared at him, "You see what I mean, right?"

Rick turned his gaze from the doorway to John, "What?"

"They get kind of annoying to deal with, don't they? They're ignorant in so many ways."

Saying this earned him a glare from Princess Celestia, "Watch your words. As a princess, I will not tolerate you calling us ignorant."

John grinned, "Well, in case you didn't notice 'Princess', we aren't in Equestria. You have no true authority or power over here."

"I still possess power, just not the legitimacy to use it. That doesn't mean I won't defend my ponies from your hateful words."

"You don't understand, do you? Over here, you're nothing. Go back ten years, and you would have been bound, gagged, and held prisoner by the first government to find you. You wouldn't have been able to do shit and your ponies wouldn't have been able to help you."

She narrowed her eyes, "Then what has changed in such a short time that allows you to freely be a part of this world without being held hostage?"

Rick stepped in, "Short time? Ten years is _not_ a short time in the political world. Hell, it only takes a day for two allied nations to become bitter enemies, so just imagine the shit that can happen in ten years… I'm getting the feeling that ruling a country with nothing happening to it has really dulled your ability to govern. It's like you don't understand politics or something."

Celestia glared invisible daggers into Rick's eyes, "I'll have you know that I am the foremost political figure and activist among all of Earth's nations. Not even the Crab Nation delegates with my ability."

Rick frowned, "You have a country full of talking crabs? What the hell."

John stared off into space, "I bet crab meat is tasty…"

Celestia began walking out of the room, "I will not be here to talk with such uncultured foals."

After she left, Rick turned to John, "Did she mean to say 'fool'? Sounds like she messed it up."

"After hearing both languages, I can tell you that it's pretty much the same thing. It's like calling someone the equivalent of a human baby with mental retardation, just more formal and less hurtful. Or that's how I think it works…"

"Whatever, let's just get strapped."

Rick and John walked over to shelf of armored vests, with the former sifting through for something forgiving to John's body structure. Rick pulled out a PCV and held it out for John to look at.

"Well?"

"It seems like it'll hold up well against the mu-"

Interrupted by the sound of something hitting the floor again, both of them turned around to see if the sound had been Twilight tripping again.

Rick ran his hand through his hair, "What the hell…"

On the floor and lying on her face was Luna, who held the same bottle of wine from earlier in her right hand.

"Hehe, ow."

She got up and moved over to John drunkenly, "Hey Rick, how about we go get some daisies or some hay?" She hiccupped, "When did you become so hairy?"

Luna reached out and began ruffling John's mane, while he stared at Rick in confusion. Rick shrugged and looked at the bottle of wine. It was completely empty, yet she was still holding onto it.

"Luna, what the hell possessed you to drink an entire bottle of wine?"

She turned to Rick, "Huh? Wha? Hey Rick, how about we got get some daisies or some hay?" She rubbed his beard, "When did you become so hairy?"

Rick and John stared at each other before laughing.

Luna pouted, thinking they were laughing at her, "Hey… that's not funny…"

John simply turned around again and began looking over the vest as Rick tried to hold Luna up. She began to slowly lean forward and went from being into a drunken stupor to a drunken unconsciousness. Rick grabbed her right before her face hit the floor, preventing another odd gravitational pull.

"Hey Rick, what's up with these monitors?"

Rick turned around, ready to explain the armor and how it worked. Inadvertently, he ended up losing his train of thought on Luna and let her go without realizing it. She dropped to the floor, hitting her face.

Her head slowly picked up before falling back down again, "Ow…"

Rick winced, "Shit, now I feel bad."

Curious, John asked the all-important question, "Why?"

"Luna's a nice person."

"Luna? As in Princess Luna?"

"Yeah."

"She's a human?"

"She made herself into one, but didn't think ahead enough to actually set a time to turn back into a pony."

"So…"

"So?"

John gave a large smile, "So what does she mean to you?" John lightly elbowed Rick in the side a few times to get the point across.

Rick didn't smile with him and instead stared off into the distance. After a minute, he spoke, "Is it wrong?"

The stallion's smile faded, "What is?"

"The fact that I like Luna and Moon."

"Moon? Moon who?"

"Nightmare Moon?"

John's jaw dropped, "You have something for _her too?_"

"Yup."

"Well… I don't think it's wrong."

Rick turned his eyes to him, "Do you really think so, or are you just saying that?"

"I'll be honest, both appeal to me. My wife was gorgeous, but I have seen some human women that are just _fine_! My point is, it shouldn't matter."

"But humans aren't meant to be in relationships with other creatures."

"So? The Green Party was never supposed to try and overthrow the EPA, but they still tried anyway."

"I don't think that's the same thing…"

"Doesn't matter. Just do what you feel is right."

Rick, without realizing it, began confiding more into the brown stallion, "Here's the thing though… I can't have both of them, can I?"

"You aren't…"

"Well, I've already been with Moon for three weeks straight. But I haven't spent that much time with Luna to say that we're a 'thing'."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa."

"What?"

"Was Nightmare Moon a pony during that time?"

Rick shook his head, "No, she was a human."

"Oh. I about to consider asking why you were even asking these questions if you already had sex with a pony."

"But I haven't, and I don't think I'll ever be able to. That just seems a bit too weird, don't you think?"

John shrugged, "Eh, I don't think so. Emotions are powerful things. They can break barriers, in my opinion."

"Something like that though? I honestly don't think I could just swallow that feeling of weirdness and have sex with any of them. If anyone figured out about that…" he whistled, "damn. I mean damn, that would really make me look like a sick motherfucker."

"Well, ponies have been living here for over half a decade, so there are probably interspecies relationships somewhere."

Rick crouched by Luna but still kept eye contact with John, "Somehow, I doubt that."

"Why? I've seen it happen."

"Yeah, maybe some freaky ass bitch decided to let some pony on top of her, but did a guy ever go after a mare? People would be fuckin' disgusted by something like that."

"No, I met this mare who said she found her soul mate. I asked her where this stallion was so we could talk about the Old Country, but when some guy walked in, I was like 'Where's the pony?' Turns out she had been dating a human for the past year. That seemed to be the stupidest idea anyone could conceive… at first."

"At first?"

"Yeah, I actually now think that it's a good thing. Who knows, maybe more ponies can start living here on Earth now. See, what I think the problem was before ponies came was the fact that animals on this planet don't think like humans here or ponies in Equestria. The animals here are relatively stupid compared to the other Earth's, so that's probably why interspecies relationships were frowned upon heavily. That kind of changes once you throw talking ponies into the mix, doesn't it?"

"I like how you talk about ponies like you're not one of them, but yeah, you're probably right about that. But does that really make it right? Would people really not care about that kind of stuff now?"

"I don't know. No one really persecutes those kinds of couples, mostly because no one really cares about anyone other than themselves at this point. If I were you, I'd go for it."

"Why?"

"Because a nice piece of royal ass like that," he pointed a hoof to Luna, "and a beautiful mare like Moon don't usually attach themselves to just anyone. Funny how both of them have taken an interest in you."

"That's another problem, who do I choose?"

"That's up to you. You have two really great ponies looking at you, but don't dwell on their places, okay? Don't stick with Luna just because she's a princess, or with Moon because she's a great tactician."

"She is? She's more hardbody than I thought."

"Oh yeah, she's one tough gal."

"Yeah she is. Man, the things she did," he shuddered, "amazing. Well, I got to get Luna back to bed before she ends up drowning in a puddle of water or something. Get yourself armored and strapped."

Rick scooped Luna up and took her back into the bedroom. Once he was inside, he placed her back into bed and tucked the covers to the point where it would take much more than just Luna to get out. He left the room and as soon as the door closed, Luna's eyes opened and looked around the room.

'Did he really fall for that? At least I learned something about how he feels, and that's what counts… He did drop me though…'

Rick walked past through the living room, passing Celestia and Twilight, who were speaking with Rembrandt again. Entering the armory, he saw John dressed in an olive drab PCV.

Meant to be all-purpose for every occasion, the vest itself was made of expensive, yet highly efficient, materials that would provide for the needs of the user wearing it. Able to be charge through the use of special batteries, it would generate a kinetically resistant force around the user to protect, deter, or in most cases, soften blows from explosions, bullets, and blunt force. While it and the monitors residing inside could be used without the use of batteries, it was almost always highly recommended for anyone who actually had the money to buy these. The material would use received actions through the monitors, which in turn made the material thicken to compensate for any lack of safety or protection. Hidden underneath certain parts of the vest were special chemical injectors specifically designed to keep the user alive had the user been inflicted with a wound such as a puncture, gunshot, or laceration. Adrenaline, morphine, Vinca, and all sorts of different chemicals stored within would drip into the user's system provided they ran and allowed for a tube to connect into the neck or arm. Expertly designed to be used in nearly every environment, it kept different assortments of thermal pads that regulated body temperature. One feature, however, always seemed oddly out of place. The ability for the material to resist high amounts of radiation never seemed to be picked up much, or used for that matter due to there being much cheaper alternatives. Most critics would argue that at the cost of half a million dollars, these were not worth their weight in gold. Ask anyone who actually used it and had a life-threatening experience only to be saved by this, and they'll tell you quite the opposite. For Rick, the Protective Combat Vest would always be just a vest, but at least it protected most major areas that anyone would want safe.

John stared at the vest attached to his body, "This. This is great."

Rick grabbed a matching olive drab PCV and began putting in on. After strapping it onto himself, he began pulling a tube with a needle at the end to his neck. He took a deep breath and pressed it into a vein, wincing in the process. Successfully putting it in, he grabbed a piece of medical tape on a nearby shelf and pressed it onto his neck to keep the tube in place. He breathed a sigh of relief and placed the tape back down.

"I never liked having to do that. Feels weird to have a tube in your neck."

John craned his head as to see the back of his vest, "So why do it then? You don't need the injectors if you're careful."

"You never know what may happen, so I do it just in case. Anyway, how does it fit? I'm surprised it actually goes with your body."

"Fits nice, and it goes with my body because the front end of my body is essentially like a human with his arms forward. I assume a person would be fine wearing a vest with their arms out like that all the time, so the vest should be able to be used by ponies too."

"Never thought about it like that… Probably should have seeing as though you're wearing a human turtleneck. Anyway, let's get these things charged. We don't have time to manually do it, so we'll use some Stream Batteries instead. Only problem is that they'll weigh you down a bit, so it may make you tired more quickly."

"Don't worry about me; I can lift my fair share of weight."

"I'll be right back then."

Rick walked out of the room again to retrieve four Batteries from the cabinet that he used to power the generator. Opening it up, the faint blue glow creeped out and into the room, barely making any recognizable difference in the lighting. Not wanting to waste any more time, he grabbed four and closed the cabinet. Rick walked back into the armory and placed the Batteries on a table, and then opening up a back piece of John's vest.

"Try not to get shot with these in your vest."

Rick placed them in while John stared at him, "Why?"

"They don't like bullets that much."

John grimaced at the thought of him exploding into tiny little pony pieces after Rick accidentally fired upon him. He shuddered at the thought of leaving Tanya behind only to die in some kind of horrible explosion that would most likely only leave his torso inside the vest unscathed.

"Okay, you're good to go. Now put these in my vest."

Rick turned around and crouched low enough for John to open the plate and push the two batteries into the vest. After a moment, he placed the plate back on and tapped on it twice.

Rick got up, "Okay, let's grab some armaments and start planning. Take what looks good to you."

They both walked around the room and examined the various weapons throughout the room. Rick stopped at a shelf and chuckled, stopping John.

"What is it?"

Rick pointed to a SIG SG-550 lying on a shelf, "That thing right there is the best weapon I've probably ever found."

John lifted it with his magic and inspected it with Rick, "Where'd ya' get it?"

Rick tapped the barrel, "Stole it."

"From who?"

"Some guy in Ukraine. Can't remember his name. It was either Meatslinger or Gunslinger."

"Huh." John lifted it higher to look at the underside, but noticing something on the stock, "What are those?"

Carved onto the stock were a capital R and fifteen small notches accompanying it.

"Guess what the R's for. And the lines are for how many times I've used this baby."

"You've only used it fifteen times?"

"I don't want to abuse it too much… But it is _fine!_ Whoever the guy was that owned it before me took care of it well, because it's still in top condition. He must have had all the internal parts fitted together perfectly, because this is much more accurate than the average 550."

"Lucky find."

Rick reached up onto a higher part of the shelf and pulled another weapon down, "Here, this seems like your kind of gun."

Rick handed the weapon to John's levitation, "Is this a-"

"Relic? You bet. Still works perfectly fine though."

"What did they used to call these things? I forgot."

"I'm pretty sure it was an F2000. FN F2000 actually."

John handed Rick the SG-550 and examined the F2000, "I heard this thing carves through things like a Thanksgiving turkey. Underbarrel grenade launcher, 1.6 magnification, high accuracy, good handling, fast shooting and pretty decent chopping ability. Where did you get this? Not many people in the world have these anymore. Let me guess… you stole it?"

"'Found' is the word I'd use in this situation. No, really, I found it while rummaging through the U.N.'s armory."

"So you stole it?"

"No one was using it. So I found it."

"But it was owned by the U.N., so didn't you technically steal it?"

"Hey, you snooze you lose. Anyway, grab some 5.56x45mm ammo and cartridges, some grenades, and some kind of sidearm. We've got planning to do."

Rick turned around and grabbed two rifle straps from a nearby shelf behind him. After putting one on himself, he tossed the other to John, who was already examining an older pistol. He turned back around again and grabbed other accessories he might need. Slipping on some fingerless gloves, Rick began rummaging around a box full of clothing he stored in case he ever needed some backups.

'I can't believe I've been going this whole day without shoes and three weeks with no shirt. I wonder if this will help my cold tolerance.'

He pulled out a pair of boxers, a pair of light blue jeans (he preferred the toughness of the denim), a dark blue shirt, and a pair of black sneakers with some lines of white designed with not gun battles in mind, but more so basketball games. Despite dressing for of an out around the city, these were clothes he was comfortable in, and comfort wasn't something he would be willing to give up easily. Rick left the room and went into his bedroom, ready to change into a fresh set of clothes.

He stopped once he noticed Luna was still in there, asleep, 'Shit. Well, it's not like it isn't anything she hasn't seen already.'

Rick unbuttoned and unzipped his shorts and pulled off both it and his boxers in one move. He threw the dirty clothes into a corner of the room, mostly because he couldn't be assed to put it in the laundry. After getting his boxers on, he put on his jeans and threw on a short sleeve shirt.

'Shit. I forgot to get socks.'

Rick walked to another closet next to Selene's. Compared to hers, it was more of a cabinet, mostly due to the fact that Rick didn't really buy as much as Selene did. Her closet was roughly four times the size of his, and he personally never gave much mind to it. He walked into it and reached to open a small dresser inside when something occurred to him.

'Wait, I'm going to probably be stomping some heads in. I'm not going to ruin these shoes with blood, so I might as well grab some boots instead.'

Rick grabbed a pair of socks and some heavy boots and sat on the bed. Putting them on, he couldn't help but have the feeling that he was being watched. Rick slowly turned his head to see if Luna was watching him only to find that she was still asleep.

"Hmm. Hey Luna."

There was no response.

"Oh well, I guess I'll just have to take Nightmare Moon instead to that nice dinner. Too bad, I guess."

One of Luna's eyes opened to look at Rick. A wide grin was present on his face as Luna mentally put her hand to her face.

"You tricked me."

"Trick? No, I was just using words to get a reaction from you."

"That's a bit cruel, don't you think?"

"Cruel? No, I was just observing your behavior."

"That's a bit odd, don't you think?"

"Odd? No, I was just seeing if you were really sleeping. You know, in case you needed anything."

"That's a bit nice, don't you think?"

"Nice? No, I'd say it was much more than that."

She smiled, "That's a bit of an exaggeration, don't you think?"

Rick slid back and onto the bed next to Luna, "Exaggeration? No, but are we going to keep doing this?"

"That we are, don't you agree?"

Rick got closer to Luna, "Agree? I'm not sure if you'll be able to continue."

"Oh? And why's that?"

"Because I don't think you'll be able to speak over this."

Rick kissed Luna for a few moments, and then pulled back.

"Like I said, you probably won't be able to say much."

"Oh."

Despite what he had said earlier, Rick was seriously contemplating whether this was a good idea or not, 'Ahh, shit. Did I just make a mistake? Did I let lack of focus take control? Man, who the fuck cares anymore.'

Luna put her hands on Rick's cheeks and pulled him in for another kiss. He ran a hand through her hair as the other went down her side. Rick then came to a realization.

"Wait. You're still under the covers. Come out."

Luna dipped her head so that only the top half showed from behind the cover, "Why don't you come in? It's much more fun inside than it is outside."

"Uh-huh. Well, I suppose nothing can go wrong, right?"

She giggled in response and ducked under the cover completely. Rick leaned his head over to see if she was still around when he suddenly felt something grab a part of his body he was always defensive about.

He stiffened, "Damn't Luna! How the hell can you even do that through this thick ass comforter?"

She poked her head out, "I have my ways. Now, are you going to come in?"

Rick chuckled, "Like I got a choice."

He rolled off the bed and landed with a thud, "Shit, went too far."

Rick heard that giggling again from the floor and immediately got up, right before getting under the comforter too. The thickness of it allowed almost no light through, which wasn't exactly something Rick liked.

He shrugged mentally, 'Maybe Luna and Moon like the darkness. Now that I think about it, they're a bit _too_ similar… Probably a coincidence.'

Rick felt Luna's lips against his again. If there was one thing that could distract him from what he was supposed to be doing at this point, it was Luna and her body. Rick broke the kiss and ran his hand down her back.

She toyed with his beard, "Are you going get rid of this? It seems so old."

"You don't like my beard? Me neither, gotta shave it soon along with my hair."

Luna ran her hand through his hair, which had grown fairly quickly during his month here without some kind of barber or hairdresser. She could actually see he had dark brown hair, to which she was expecting black instead. Then again, she didn't really know that much about Rick's hair seeing as though he never really had much when they met.

"I don't think you should. The beard you should rid yourself of, but keep your hair."

Rick frowned, "But I always shave my hair to the point where it's just a thin cover so I don't look bald."

"But you look so much more… friendlier. The beard seems a bit scary, but I suppose you can't really help that."

"My beard is scary? Never heard that before. But it itches like crazy though." After giving it a thinking over, Rick decided, "Fine, I'll keep the hair, but this hermit ass-looking beard has gotta go ASAP."

Luna smiled, "Fine by me."

She pulled him in, but before their lips could make contact, Rick moved his down to her neck instead. She gave a sharp gasp when he felt his warm lips kiss her neck. Rick chuckled when he looked up to see her head pointing up with her eyes closed.

Between squeaks, moans, and other sounds of pleasure, Luna barely managed to look at him, "Wh-what's so -eh- fu-oh-funny?"

Every time he kissed her neck, her face would shift to pleasure before returning to eagerness. Rick's right hand ran up her thigh, but was stopped when she placed hers on it. Luna pulled away and smiled at Rick, then switched positions. Instead of being next to each other, Luna was now on top of Rick.

Rick chuckled, "Those're some slick moves."

"Mmm, I try."

"Oh yes, you do."

Luna leaned back and smiled at Rick from higher up. He couldn't help but give a dumb grin at her as she came back down to his lips. Unfortunately, that never happened due to the fact that a strap on Rick's vest caught onto the bottom end of Luna's dress, snagging them together from an awkward position. She tried to undo the point where it was stuck together, but it was useless.

She looked at Rick, "I don't think it's coming off. Can you get it off?"

"Can I get it off? Of course I can. I'm just," he flexed his right arm, "that strong."

She laughed, "I don't see you doing anything."

Rick frowned, "I was explaining something. Okay, stand back!"

Rick pulled at the area that was stuck, but it wouldn't give. After a few moments of trying, he decided to use some hip movement to get some momentum. Obviously more sexual than he intended, his grinding motion forced Luna to blush.

"Oh! Do you really think moving like that is going to get it off?"

Rick wiped his brow and stared off into the distance heroically, "I'll just have to die trying to find out."

She smirked at him, "Wonderful…" Her face fell, "Did you lock the door?"

Rick's face fell as well, "Aww shit."

They both looked at the door to see it was slightly open, with footsteps approaching. They looked back at each other and began trying to pull the strap off of her dress. With no time to waste, Rick and Luna moved as much as possible to free themselves from each other before whoever it was came in.

"Luna, where did you go?"

Rick's eyes widened, 'Oh shit, Celestia. She ain't gonna be too happy when she sees this.'

Right as they finally broke off the strap, Celestia opened the door to walk in on Luna and Rick grinding against one another, with Luna on top. Her eyes widened, right before narrowing to the point where it looked as if she was about to shoot lasers out of them. Celestia's horn lit up magnificently as Rick was ripped out from underneath Luna, rolling her off of him in the process.

Levitating Rick, Celestia slammed him against the wall with as much strength as her magic allowed possible without smashing him into dust.

She walked up to him with a deep, spiteful scowl, "What do you _think_ you are doing with my sister? Well? Answer me!"

Rick's back ached from the sudden attack, "Trust me, it's not what it looked like. Your angle just saw things differently from the way they really were."

Celestia slammed him again, "And what _were_ you doing with Luna?"

Luna ran to Celestia and shook her, "CEL! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!"

Luna was dropped to the floor, her body and mouth bound with magic.

Celestia glared deeply at Rick, "Well? Need I have to extract the information more forcefully?"

A cocking sound along with a dead serious voice spoke, "That'll be enough of that, bitch. Let him down. _Now_."

All three of them looked at the doorway as John walked in, using his magic to hold his Glock 23 to Princess Celestia's head.

He grinned, "Don't even think about killing him, knocking him out, or overpowering my magic. It's highly resistant to other users' magic, so you won't be able to stop me from putting a round in your skull and saving myself time. Now put him down, or else."

With eyes full of hate, Celestia stared down the stallion as Rick slowly slid to the floor. After the magic dissipated, he got up and began walking towards the door. Rubbing his neck with one hand, he used the other to tap John on the shoulder as he walked out.

"Ugh, come on, we got planning to do. Make sure you got a shit load of ammo too."

"Right, let's go."

John slowly backed up and walked out of the room, still keeping an eye on Celestia. He lowered his Glock and followed Rick into the living room as Princess Celestia released the binds on Luna. Instantly, Luna got up and ran towards her, lightly hitting her like a child would an older sibling.

Celestia sighed, "What are you doing? That's extremely childish."

Luna stopped and stared at her sister, "And it wasn't childish to lift Rick up and smash him into a wall?"

Celestia scowled, "What do you think you were doing? What crossed your mind when you were with him like that?"

"It was exactly what he said it was, a misunderstanding. His vest was stuck to my dress and we were only trying to get it off!"

Celestia raised a brow, "Using those kinds of movements? Did that honestly even _begin_ to make sense to either of you?"

Luna crossed her arms, "You realize we weren't doing anything, right? How would we when we were fully clothed?"

Celestia shook her head, "I don't understand the clothing these creatures use. For all we know, they could have a way to work around it. Honestly, I expected better from you, Luna."

"From me? You can't understand the situation, can you? Why can't you just be happy for me?"

"Because he's not our kind!" Celestia snapped back. "He's nothing like us, and his presence promotes violence! What you see in him is _beyond_ me!"

"I see something different from the mundane workings of our country! He actually understands where I'm coming from and _doesn't_ criticize my actions!"

Celestia narrowed her eyes, "What are you talking about?"

Luna uncrossed her arms, "He doesn't care that I was Nightmare Moon," she noticed Celestia twitched at the name, "and actually supports me instead of everypony else! He's most likely the only pony not to push me away just because of my past!"

Celestia glared at Luna, "He isn't a pony! For goodness sake, he's from a whole different world and isn't anything we've seen before!"

"And why does that matter? Why must you make such a fuss over the fact that he isn't like us? That's what makes him such an interesting pony to be around!"

"You've heard what he's done! He's dangerous to be around!"

Luna stopped and stared at the floor, "The servants think the exact same way about me."

The anger on Celestia's face melted away as she sighed, "That's not true, Luna. They just need time."

"Time? I was running from Nightmare Moon for a thousand years and they want _time?_ How much _time_ do they need?" She gave a glum laugh, "Rick was right, I really don't need them in my life."

Intrigued, Celestia prodded further, "Excuse me?"

"He told me that I don't need to try and prove myself to other ponies, and looking at it now, he was right."

"Luna, you're a princess, you can't just disregard others' opinions about you. You have to maintain a certain relationship with your subjects so they still look to you for guidance. If you brush them off, they'll only start to dislike you more."

Luna sighed, "I don't think I really care anymore. They didn't even know I really existed up until a year and half ago, so if I just ignore my duties, will anything really change?"

"Yes, because I need you. Not only that, but Equestria needs you. It's your obligation to raise and lower the Moon."

Luna's face turned sour, "_Obligation_? I have no obligation to anypony! J-just take care of it yourself! Humph!"

Luna did her best to stomp out of the room, but the heels didn't exactly give the right effect.

Princess Celestia shook her head, "_What_ is going through her mind?"

In the living room, Luna was speaking with Rick and John(who actually held no quarrel to Luna, oddly enough) regarding her sister's reaction.

Luna cleared her throat, "She's just trying to be protective of me, that's all. But I can't stand it! She treats me like a foal! Am I a foal? I am not a foal!"

Rick shrugged, "The hell is a 'foal'?"

John chuckled, "A young pony. Kind of stupid, right?"

Luna pouted, "But that's what she sees me as! I'm not even that much younger than her!"

Rick began thinking that over, "How much older is she?"

Luna thought about it, "Well… I can't actually remember."

John's right brow raised, "How do you not remember that? If she's been around three thousand years old, shouldn't you be fairly close?"

Rick clicked his tongue, "Problem is that's all we know there. There could be a nine hundred ninety-nine year difference for all we know."

Luna rolled her eyes, "I don't think it's _that_ large a difference. She's most likely only a few years or maybe only one year older than me."

Rick turned to John, "Can ponies have twins?"

"I don't know why you'd ask, but I don't really know. I'm not a doctor, man, just a scavenger."

"Huh. Well, they may be fraternal twins. That would explain why they look different, and maybe Celestia's only a few minutes older than you, Luna. What I can't understand is how you don't remember this kind of stuff. Yeah, it's been three thousand-something years, but shouldn't your birthdays be an important thing to remember?"

Luna rolled part of the dress between her fingers idly, "I just don't remember certain points in time. In fact, I think I'm forgetting the past thousand years. Possibly more… I can't understand how I'm forgetting these things. It's… scary…"

John laughed, "You think that's scary? You haven't seen scary until you've walked out of your front door and got attacked by something that was human one point."

Rick smirked, "I'm guessing that happened to you? At one point?"

"Oh yeah. A Mole came after me."

"You guys name them now? Back in my day, we just called them 'mutants' and shot the shit out of them."

"Meh, people like to name things. Hell, I bet you've named a gun or a piece of armor before."

"Yup, did that. Anyway, you were saying?"

"Yeah, so this Mole comes out of the ground in front of me and I start flipping out. So I start panicking-"

"Bad idea."

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, I panic, and then I try using my sledgehammer to smash that bitch back into the ground. Here's the thing, these guys are smart. Like, smart as a child smart. It ducks down into the ground and pops up from a different hole, I go over, it digs away, it comes back up, I go over, and it just keeps repeating. Eventually, I just got annoyed to the point where I went over to the back of my house and made some cement. Then I poured it down each of the holes until this ugly ass thing comes out. It's covered in cement and just barely moves on the ground. So I walk over to it, bash its head into a skull stew, and live happily ever after."

Rick clapped, "Marvelous."

John bowed his head, "I try. Anyway," he turned to Luna, "just do you. Nothing else."

Luna put her index finger to her bottom lip and looked up, "Just… do me."

Rick elbowed John and whispered in his ear, "With pleasure."

She glared at their random snickering, "What was that?"

Rick cleared his throat, "Nothing. Anyway, we'll figure that out once we get back to your world. Right now, we have to get John to the garage so he can take his kid out of Chi-Town."

Luna turned to John, "Why can't you just have my sister or Twilight teleport both you and your child down there?"

John scowled, "Hell no, they wouldn't do that for me. And I don't trust a pony to teleport me to a place they don't recognize."

"Why?"

"I might end up stuck in a wall or the floor or something. Now I heard that there was something called a 'Displacer' than can take you anywhere without getting you into some concrete. Unless you want to, that is."

Rick smiled, "Yeah I used one once."

"What happened?"

Right as Rick was about to speak, Luna cut him off, "He fell face first into asphalt and got a boo-boo."

Rick stared at Luna as John began cracking up, "Hah, what? A 'boo-boo'? Seriously, man?"

"Yeah, a 'boo-boo'," Rick grumbled. "You want me to help you get there or not?"

"Of course. So what's the plan, guy?"

Rick brought them all over to Rembrandt's screen, "Okay, Rembrandt here will show us a map of the building."

The eye rolled once and sighed, "Yes, because I'd like to finally get this over with."

A virtual map of the building from every major angle popped up on the screen as Rick began pointing at the side view.

"So, we're on the twenty-third floor of the Shores Building. That means we'll just take the elevators real quick-"

John raised his head, "Can't."

Rick turned his head back, "What do you mean 'can't'?"

"Elevators are destroyed."

"Convenient. Okay, new plan. We fight our way down the stairs to the lobby, we head to the northern wing, we get to the garage, and you're home free."

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"You'll be left behind without help when we leave."

"Don't worry; I can handle myself just fine."

John grinned, "Living the legend."

Rick ran his hand down his face, "Listen, we probably have two hours at most here, so do you want to waste it blathering on about some 'legend'?"

"Continue."

"Good. Now, if there as many of these as we say there are, we're probably going to need specialized equipment. I don't have that. So tell me, what are we up against? Maybe I can improvise something."

John floated a pair of earmuffs, "Definitely going to need these, you know, for those Basilisks."

"Weird name."

"We used to call them Doms."

"Why?"

"Their loud screaming and yelling reminded us of Dominicans."

Rick began laughing, "Shit! That's a bit racially insensitive, but I can live with it. What else are we dealing with?"

"Might be some Gorges or Bats. Also, regular mutants will be perusing around. Gorges will probably be on the ground floor, because their fat asses can't make their way up stairs. Bats _might_ be inside hanging around from high places. Really, who would have thought a human could mutate to the point where skin membranes form like _that_. I sure as hell never would have."

Rick scratched his beard, trying to remember something, "You know, I remember seeing some really weird mutations among the population at Shephard's Island. That's where all this shit started."

"What'd ya' see?"

Rick shuddered, "The biggest, toughest, and almost unkillable mutant of them all. It was huge, spindly, and powerful as fuck. This thing used body parts to form together and make itself bigger and stronger. I mean, like this shit literally used whole bodies as muscle tissue. It had these glowing, orange eyes, two big ass balled up hands, and the upper body of a human. After that was a tail that went from being whole bodies to arms and legs attached to each other. Crazy. Ass. Fucking. Mutant."

John looked away, a frown forming on his face, "I've seen it. The government thinks that's the ringleader of the mutants. It spearheads all major city sieges. The only city to ever repel it without casualties was NYC."

Rick gave a mental fist pump, 'Hell yes!'

"Well John, I doubt we'll run into it. For the other stuff, we'll improvise. Get your shit together; we're leaving in five minutes."

"Right… where's Tanya?"

"Your daughter?"

"W-where did she go!"

Rick put his hands up, "Calm down, she couldn't have left. Check in the rooms."

John shook his head in worry and walked down a hallway.

Left alone, Luna and Rick began staring at each other.

Luna broke the silence, "I'm sorry for that."

"It was nothing."

"What made you change your mind?"

"I- I don't know. Just seeing you there… I can't really explain it."

She placed a hand on his arm, "Name it instead of explaining it."

He smiled, "Well, let's just say it may have been a four letter word. Also, I wanted to say this earlier, but I didn't think it was appropriate."

"What?"

"You look damn fine lying in my bed."

She blushed, "That sounds so wrong…"

"But," he gave her a kiss, "it felt so right, right?"

He looked back at her to see that her eyes were still closed and mouth still puckered from the kiss. She opened one eye, then both.

Luna laughed nervously, "Oh."

Rick grinned, 'Good god! She _has _to do this shit on purpose! No one is that fucking cute!'

"Uhh, well, I better start getting ready."

He turned around to walk away, but was grabbed and turned back again. Luna reached her arms around him and gave as tight a hug as she could.

"Did she hurt you?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

Rick rolled his eyes, "She threw me into a wall twice. I was lucky I had the PCV on because _then_ I might have been seriously hurt."

Luna stared blankly at him, "PCV?"

Rick removed a hand from around Luna and ran it over the vest, "The Protective Combat Vest. Designed with safety in mind and worth every single one of the five hundred and thirty-two thousand dollars it cost me to get it."

She frowned, "That sounds like a lot of bits. Is that a lot?"

"For an armored vest? Hell yeah. But its top of the line, so nothing to worry about."

"Can I come with you?"

Rick leaned his neck back and stared at her, "Where?"

"Outside."

"Heeelllllll noooo."

"But why?"

"These things don't discriminate against humans. They'll rip your throat out."

Luna noticed one of her hands was lying protectively over her neck.

She pulled it away immediately, "I can handle it. Let me use those thingies that you have."

Rick began laughing, much to Luna's displeasure.

He stopped once he noticed her glaring at him, "Wait, you were serious?"

She nodded her head.

"Luna, I don't think you can handle a gun. You'd either end up shooting one of us, or hitting yourself in the face from the recoil. These things are really dangerous in the wrong hands." He grinned, "Even more so when they're in mine."

She pouted, "Can I at least try?"

Rick rubbed the back of his neck, "Uhh, damn. Well, I _suppose_ you could, but you're going to need a quick lesson. Come with me."

Rick led her into the armory and pulled out the smallest handgun he could find. Pulling out a PSS, he handed it to Luna, who looked down the barrel almost immediately.

Rick grabbed it from her, "Okay, maybe this won't work out."

She grabbed it back, "I was just inspecting it, nothing to worry about."

"You were looking down the thing that'll kill you. Please, try to be careful."

Luna looked at it in interest, checking the PSS from every angle, "Why is it so small?"

"I wouldn't say it's because it's weak, but the Russians made this with concealment in mind."

"Why?"

"Because they're sneaky bastards, that's why."

"Oh. Well, how do I use this… thing."

"Okay, you-"

Rick was cut off when Luna accidentally fired a round at his chest, knocking him onto the floor. Luckily, the anti-kinetic field generated over the vest vastly reduced the force and prevented the bullet from going through the vest and into his body. Despite avoiding a possible death, Rick couldn't avoid the feeling of being hit by a train. Wheezing, Rick laid on the floor in pain before a green aura lifted him off the floor and onto his feet. He turned his head to see John smiling.

"You let her handle a gun, didn't you?"

Rick nodded his head.

"It hurt pretty badly?"

He nodded again.

"You got your ass merced by Princess Luna?"

Rick shook his head furiously and coughed.

"That's what it looks like."

Rick managed to return his breathing to normal, "Don't you… have a daughter… to look for?"

He groaned in pain while John sidestepped from the doorway to reveal a sleeping Tanya on top of Twilight.

"Twilight read her a story until she fell asleep. But what I'm wondering is why you have the book 'The Miraculous Muffin' in your library."

Rick looked away, "Shut up."

John turned around, "Thanks Twilight, I appreciate it. Also, that hole eating meat thing was a joke. I just wanted to see your reactions, as much as a dick move it was to do. And one more thing; sorry about the way I was acting earlier, it's just that your princess really irks me."

Twilight, somewhat unnerved at what John said about her teacher, smiled regardless, "It was my pleasure. But John, I was wondering something."

"What?"

"Are you going to keep your daughter as a human? Or are you going to change her back?"

John looked sympathetically at his daughter and smiled, "I want to give her the best life I can, and the only way I can do that is by heading east. Her being a human makes it easier for me to get her there."

Twilight looked at him confusedly, inciting him to explain what was so important about the eastern United States.

"Okay, let me break it down. You see, the portals that led my family here are one way. There are supposedly other portals all over the world, but no one can go through other than ponies. What I think is that our natural magic enables us to cross through easily, while humans, animals, and mutants experience relatively no reaction."

"If they're all over the world, why don't you take one that's closer instead of going across a country?"

"There's someone I have to meet back in New York City. Another pony who's waiting for us."

"But isn't that dangerous for Tanya?"

"Yes, and I despise the fact that I don't take another, closer portal. But I have to get to the pony so we can properly cross over to the Old Country."

"The 'Old Country'?"

"That's what we call the northern parts of Equestria. That's where we're from."

Twilight looked into the living room for a moment, then focused onto John "But that's where the radicals are."

John raised a brow, "'Radicals'? That's what we're called by you guys?"

Twilight shuffled her hooves nervously, "Well, northern Equestria _has_ been known to openly oppose the Princesses."

"No, no, no, you're misunderstanding. We oppose _Celestia._ We're perfectly fine with Princess Luna," that earned him a smile from the princess, "and in fact, we celebrate her instead. You guys can worship Celestia all you want; we have Princess Luna to look after us."

Luna crouched down by him, "You ponies like me?"

John laughed as if she asked a stupid question (which he wouldn't dare say), "Of course! I've been to southern Equestria and the night sky just looks so much _duller_ than in the north. From our mountains and hills, we can see everything you offer us."

Luna put a hand on his shoulder, making him nervous to be so close to the Princess, "Really? So you do appreciate my work?"

John gave a warm smile, "We wouldn't celebrate the Winter Moon Festival every year if we didn't."

Luna looked like she was about to break out in tears, "Th-the Winter M-Moon Festival?"

"Yes. We used it to count down the years until your release from the Moon. It was only going to be a few more years until you were released, and we were going to organize the largest festival to date, but… my wife and I were never around for that. I heard a bit over a year ago from another pony that you were released, and it was probably the only thing that made me smile other than seeing Tanya. That gave me hope to come back to Equestria, it really did. At least with you in power, we could finally restore true glory to the North. Don't you know that we need you? Northern ponies see you the same way the southerners seen Celestia. Of course, we don't really prefer her, mostly because of what she did to you. But seriously, you matter a lot to us. You're our symbolic leader, in a way. You matter more than you think."

Luna slowly turned her head to Rick, with a smile on her face and tears in her eyes, "Di-did you hear that Ri-Rick? I muh-matter to them! I re-really do!"

Rick chuckled, "Of course you do. Like I said, everyone has power somewhere; they just need to find it. The same goes with respect and love."

Luna moved to a wall and sat down, thinking over the joyous moment over and over in her head. John moved to Rick and elbowed him to get lower.

"Hey, about Nightmare Moon."

"Yeah?"

"Just an FYI, we see her the exact same way we see Princess Luna."

Rick was visually surprised, "Really?"

"Yeah. Legend has it that they were one pony once."

"But didn't Nightmare Moon take over Luna?"

"Take over? That's not what the legend says."

"Who told you this legend?"

"Blueblind, the oldest living dragon, told us. He's over twelve thousand years old."

"Damn! That's old!"

"Yeah, he knows everything about everything."

"So why don't you ask him more about this stuff?"

"He only allows us to ask a question every couple of years and usually some filly or colt will waste the question when we're not looking. The point is, his information is invaluable. We learned the legend from him and we never regretted it since."

"What _is _the legend?"

"Princess Luna and Lady Moon used to be one pony. She was betrayed by somepony, and split into their currents forms. After that, a plot was conceived that forced them to the Moon in banishment, with them supposedly not knowing a thing about their former life."

Rick grunted in disgust, "Who the fuck would do that? Are you sure this is true?"

"Blueblind has never failed us."

"I'll go visit him later. Where is he?"

"He migrates between our mountain range in the winter to the Everfree Mountains during the summer. Summer should be ending soon, so I'd get there as quickly as possible."

"Wait, dragons are overgrown lizards, and lizards are cold-blooded."

"So?"

"Why would he go north during the winter? That doesn't make sense."

"We don't question his ways, we just watch them."

"Well, I think we've used enough time. Let's get going."

"Lead the way."

Rick looked back at Luna before whispering to John, "Thanks man. She really needed that."

John smiled, "I meant every word. But yo, when I figured out that _that_ was Princess Luna, I was about to shit myself. It's not every day you meet a pony like her… You lucky bastard."

Rick grinned back, "Yeah, I know."

"So… what exactly did Celestia interrupt back there?"

Rick smirked, "I got into bed with Luna, against my better judgment."

"I'd say that was your better judgment if it told you to do that. You didn't…"

"Nope. Celestia thought we were though."

"Why?"

"My vest got caught on her dress. Being the dumbass I am, I ended up grinding against her. Guess what that made it look like we were doing when Celestia came in."

"Seriously? Why wouldn't you just rip it off?"

"Tried, got nothing. Anyway, if we're done here, let's actually go this time."

"You're right, we got to get to the garage quick, before more of these come."

Rick kneeled by Twilight, "Watch out for Luna, alright? She might me susceptible to the infection, so we can't take any chances."

Twilight nodded back as Rick began putting various pieces of equipment into his backpack. He made his way over to a shelf near him and pulled out a familiar object. It was a detached sleeve made of stretchable material that ran three quarters up to his elbow; it featured a metal plate opposite his palm, and a port on the other. Removing his left glove, he slipped the piece of equipment onto his left forearm. He opened and closed his left hand several times to get a good feel and make sure nothing was unordinary. When he was finished, he held his arm in front of him and used his other hand to pull out his PDA from his back pocket. Rick attached it to the port and set the locks in so the PDA wouldn't slip out.

After connecting both, he pressed various things on the PDA as he held his arm out in front of him again. A sleek, see-through material slid out of the metal plate and formed together to make his one and only riot shield. He waved it around a few times to get a good feel, then approached another table to retrieve a combat knife. Despite the fact he preferred much larger and sharper tools for use with the shield, this was his only option at this point. He put it on a sheath over the chest area of his vest and withdrew the shield.

John nodded approvingly, "Nice thing there, but how about we start clearing our way through now?"

"Gotcha, let's dip."

Both of them left the room and walked to the safehouse exit. Rick pressed onto his PDA, disengaging the locks with a low screech.

He turned his head to John, "What are you packing?"

"The gun you gave me and a Glock 23."

Rick stared at him, "Seriously?"

"Yeah. Gotta keep a .40 cal on your side when steppin' with the mindstate of a mobster."

"Didn't expect to hear that. Now, when we bust out, you want to take the left side or the right? We'll be going to the right, by the way."

"I'll take left."

"Right, so on the count of three, we go through and start bustin' at 'em."

"Sounds good… Did you mean: one, two, three _then_ go, or one, two, three, go?"

"Are you being serious right now?"

"Yeah."

"Just look left and shoot whatever's there when I open the door, okay?"

"Gotcha."

Rick pulled the door slowly, then yanked it as he and John went through and into their appropriate positions. Met with nothing other than the body from earlier, Rick tapped John's back while keeping his eyes in front of him.

"Hey, let's go this way. Cover our backs."

John slowly backed up, waiting for something to pop out and tear Rick's head clean off. He lowered his weapon slightly and kept pace with a nonchalantly walking Rick. They followed the dirtied hallway down as Rick passed by old places that had been once so much livelier.

"Damn… things have changed."

"You got that right, man. This shit is giving me the heebie-jeebies."

Rick stood still and turned his head back, "Did you just say 'heebie-jeebies'?"

John backed up into him, "Yeah, why?"

Rick shook his head, "No reason. Come on, we have a lot of stairs to go down."

As Rick and John exited into a stairway, someone from inside his safehouse was making quite the ruckus in an attempt to leave.

"Twilight, stop at once! If you continue to try and stop me, I _will_ put you in a cage, then banish you while inside the cage to a faraway location like the Fillydelphian sewers!"

Luna smiled as she opened the door quietly and exited the living room. The last thing she saw from inside was a panicking Twilight desperately looking for Princess Celestia. Luna giggled and began heading to the right end of the hallway. As she walked through the dilapidated hallway, her eyes caught what looked like the creature from earlier that tumbled into Rick's safehouse. She looked in both directions before slowly coming up to it. Using the end of her shoe, she poked the dead monstrosity. She stepped back for a moment, then got closer to examine something that was lying partially under it. Pulling out an odd metallic item and holding it in her hands, Luna assumed it was the same weapon Rick used earlier.

"How does this…"

She began poking at parts of it to get a reaction, but nothing happened. Annoyed, she held it with both hands (due to it weighing her down), continued down the hallway and towards the staircase. Hesitant at first, she held her heel out then slowly placed it down on the stairs.

'That wasn't so hard! I can do this!'

She began slowly descending the stairs until laughter from lower down caught her attention. Luna looked over the edge of the railing and spotted both Rick and John already closing in near the bottom. With determination, Luna quickly made her way to the lowest level of the building.

A hallway away from the lobby, both a man and stallion were cracking up at some unheard joke.

Rick's face was red with laughter as he stopped for a moment and leaned forward to catch his breath, "So-so I says to him: 'Well, I did _Nazi_ that coming!'"

John's attempt to calm himself down was met with no results as he leaned against a wall and slammed his hoof into repeatedly, "S-shit! What'd he s-say?"

Rick placed his back against the wall opposite of John, "He ended up lookin' at me and walking away all mad an' shit! He was _mad. As. Fuck!_"

John placed his head against the wall and continued laughing, "I just don't understand man! Where do you meet these people?"

Rick wiped a tear from his eye as his laughter died down, "Oh man, I meet people like that _all the time_! I end up working with the craziest people sometimes, and god, the shit they say is _hilarious_!"

"Do they know what half of that stuff means?"

"Most of them don't speak English well, so sometimes a pretty funny conversation can happen."

"Gimme another."

"Ight, so this one Belorussian comes up to me and asks if I've ever been to The Zone."

"Yeah?"

"I'm like, 'The Zone'? And he tells me that over near Pripyat, him and some gu-"

Suddenly, a piercing screech resounded off the walls. Rick and John instantly went through their bags to grab the salvation to their agony. Once they both had their earmuffs on, they pointed their weapons in the direction of the culprit.

Standing roughly seven feet tall was an oddly well-toned humanoid that appeared to be wearing a makeshift kilt, thankfully. Its tan, dirt-caked skin was reddish in a few specific areas, such as the throat, forearms, and ribcage. A notable characteristic was that its wide, flat head held such an irregular (and oddly fitting) shape that it seemed to make the mutant lean slightly to its forward-left. A small bump reached at the top-back of the skull, indicating that while the head changed to a certain level, the spine seemed to still be growing more vertebrae. It appeared to be missing a few fingers on each hand; the left hand held only two while the other kept only two and a stub of what was once a finger. However, it seemed that this individual had lost appendages due to forced evolution rather than in battle, indicated by the fact there were no stumps, scars or extra bones near the hands.

To compensate for the lack of fingers, the fingers themselves were bloated to three times the regular size of adult male human's. Down past the legs lied feet like no other creatures'; the toes themselves seemed to have followed the fingers' example and spread farther and farther from each other in much larger sizes. It seemed as though it was a useless malformation, for the most part. The most truly interesting part of this creature, however, was its throat. It was shallow and receded to the point where the neck was visible through the uncharacteristically thin membrane of the skin. As it stopped its sonic barrage, the air-sac like throat filled with air, stretching the skin out in such a way that it looked as if it was going to pop any moment.

One feature it lacked, of course, was being bulletproof. It learned that the hard way when both Rick and John unloaded round after round into its body and head. One bullet collided with the air-sac, puncturing it and releasing the high-pressured gas. In one small, bloody explosion, it was tossed onto its back in agony as John and Rick closed in and finished it off with a 5.56x45mm round from each.

Rick wiped his brow and as they removed their muffs to their necks, "God _damn!_ That thing is one weird ass mo'fo'."

"You're telling me? I have to deal with this kind of stuff all the time… Rick."

"What?"

John turned his head, "Do you hear… heels?"

Rick's eye widened in fear as he turned his head to the way they came from. Coming down the final steps was none other than Princess Luna holding a Mac11 in both her hands and the PSS in her bra. Rick smacked his face and slowly brought his hand down in frustration. John chuckled and turned around to make sure nothing snuck up on what was going to definitely be an interesting moment.

Luna waved released a hand from the Mac11, dropping her a little lower, and used it to wave at a fuming and approaching Rick.

"Luna, why are you here? Can't you see how dangerous it is?"

Luna looked past him to see the carcass of the loud-mouthed mutant, "I didn't see anything dangerous on the way down."

"That's because they're probably all down here!" Rick checked his PDA, "Damn't! We don't have time for this! Come on Luna, you're coming with us!"

Rick grabbed Luna by her forearm before she could respond and pulled her towards John. John nodded to her as Rick pulled off the sleeve/PDA/riot shield. He held it up for her and took the Mac11 from her hands.

"You're going to need this. Listen, all you need to do is press this little green button here, okay?" Rick pointed at a small button on the side of the PDA, "It will deploy a shield you can use to protect yourself. If you need to, use the PSS in conjunction with the shield to protect yourself more, got it?"

She nodded, "But what about you? Won't you need this?"

He shook his head, "I can survive fine without it, but you on the other hand… Just keep yourself safe, okay? Here, put it on."

Luna slipped the sleeve onto her left arm and tightened it. To her, it was surprisingly lightweight in comparison with the weapon Rick snatched away from her. She pressed the button he pointed out earlier and was greeted with a clear material receding from a metal plate along with what sounded like a painful yell.

Rick fell onto his ass, rubbing his chin. The shield supposedly came out faster than he had anticipated and ran straight into the bottom of his chin. He looked up to see Luna with a quizzical and curious look on her face and John barely holding back laughter again.

He chuckled, "Okay, just do that when something comes for you. If they do, that is."

John extended a hoof to Rick and helped him up onto his feet. Pulling out his 550 again, Rick nodded in the direction of the lobby, and began walking cautiously. It wasn't just him and John trying to defends themselves anymore; they had new cargo to look after now.

"Luna, stay in the middle just in case. That way we'll be able to defend you easily."

Rick could feel Luna pouting at him, "I can defend myself, I'll have you know."

"Uhh, as a pony maybe. You're a human now, and that means you could be susceptible to infection and mutation. We can't take that risk, so avoid touching any of these at all costs."

Luna stayed silent as she scurried between the man and the stallion. Eventually, they came up to the massive lobby of the Shores Building on State Street. Just about everything from furniture to desks were upturned with debris and garbage littering the area. The front entrance's doors had been barricaded lightly on some parts, but a gaping hole was left near the middle where parts of the door were busted inwards. Rick looked over the area before continuing to the right and past the reception desks. Admittedly, he was expecting much more bodies and even more mutants to fight. He chuckled silently to himself as the group pushed their way to another hallway leading to the garages.

"Uhh, Rick?"

Rick turned he head back slightly to see John looking up, "What?" His eyes followed John's to the ceiling.

"Oh… shit…"

Through the destroyed ceiling were what looked like dozens of miniature humans waddling around on girders and any other object strong enough to support them. They looked like humans with featureless faces minus a pair of large ears, sharp teeth, and a mouth and jaw that could definitely devastate any creature with just a bite. What looked like a thick skin membrane hung from the arms and connected with overly large, pulsating veins that made a deformed ring for flight use, supposedly. For the most part, these creatures seemed completely oblivious to anything around them, which was shown when they idly bumped into each other and waddled in the opposite direction.

Rick's eyes slowly fell back to John to see that he was already staring back at him. He gave a glance back up and focused on John, "What the hell do they do?"

"As long as we don't make _too_ much noise, we'll be fine. If we _do_ make noise, be prepared to dive to the floor, because these things will snatch you up, take you to their nest, and turn you into a feast. In other words, they'll all try to eat you at once."

Rick grimaced, "Sounds fun… Would a gunsh-"

Right as Rick was about to finish his question, a gunshot went off near them, forcing both of them to jolt up and point their guns at the source.

Luna gave a sheepish smile as she bent down to pick up the PSS, "Um, excuse me? Sorry…"

Rick's frown pointed away from her and to the ceiling. Both John and Luna followed his eyes as they saw the now disturbed mutants all staring at them with glowing, beady eyes. Rick slowly backed up and towards the hallway to the garage, with the others following him. Suddenly, the creatures all screamed in unison and flew in droves in one large sweeping action. Thinking fast, John pulled out a M84 from his backpack, lifted it into the air and pulled the pin. Rick turned Luna away while John covered his face. The light exploded from the grenade along with the deafening bang, completely disorientating and incapacitating all of the creatures, who were still in mid-flight when the explosion occurred. Rick looked up to see the mutants all falling to the floor in pain, and in large numbers.

John and Rick nodded at each other and began the clean-up process as Luna crouched by a desk to watch. Writhing in pain, the creatures attempted their best at restoring their eyesight and hearing, and a few actually managed to try and scramble away in the process. The human and the pony used their rifles to great effect as they cleared the lobby of living, mutated individuals. Luna's eyes widened as bullets impacted the bodies and skulls of these poor, defenseless creatures who would have paid them no mind if she hadn't dropped her weapon.

Finishing up, both Rick and John stood over one last living mutant. Luna's heart skipped a beat as they lifted their weapons to end its life.

"WAIT!"

Both of them turned in confusion as Luna went around the desk and towards Rick.

"Please, you don't need to kill it!"

Rick's head turned to John and then back to Luna, "Yeah, we do."

Luna's pleading eyes turned to John who nervously rubbed the back of his neck with his hoof, "Sorry Princess, it's just… these things aren't exactly a very well-liked or peaceful subset. I've personally seen them tear open rib cages and rip heads off of peoples' shoulders. We can't allow them to live, because then we'll be putting someone else in danger."

"But-"

Rick cut her off, "No, Luna. These things only want to kill and eat; they don't care about you or me. You should never turn your back on a predator."

Before Luna could react, blood splattered onto her legs. She looked down to see Rick's heavy boot over the crushed head of a mutant. Her heart sank for moment before she turned away.

Rick wiped the chunks of skull off of his boot and onto the body of the creature, "He was trying to kill you Luna. He didn't care that you were trying to spare him. He could have infected you."

Luna turned to Rick with puffy, red eyes, "If I hadn't dropped that- that _thing_, you wouldn't have had to kill them!"

Rick sighed, "We did good Luna, despite how you may feel. Consider what they would have done to us if we were trapped and without any weapons. They would tear us apart. At least the world is a little bit safer."

Despite how she felt, Luna managed to accept what Rick was saying. There really was no point in trying to save what was savage and bloodthirsty enough to kill in the most gruesome way possible. Slowly, something came to her mind. She looked at Rick and then back at the creature. In some ways, there wasn't much of a difference other than appearance… Luna gasped and mentally scolded herself for even considering the idea of comparing him with those _things!_

She looked back to see both guys staring at her for her random gasp, "Oh, uh… I just remembered that I left the stove on… yeah! That's it."

Rick and John looked at each other and shrugged. They began walking to the hallway with Luna following, slightly behind. As the three continued down the hallway, they came across an intersection, to which Rick instantly turned left at. Trusting his choice, the other two followed. Eventually, they passed a very bland, unappealing door labeled "PRIVATE: TRESPASSERS SUBJECT TO BULLETS". Rick chuckled at his sign and tried opening the door only to realize that it was locked. He grunted and went to a nearby keypad to enter a passcode. When nothing happened, he stood up and looked back at Luna.

"Hey Luna, come here for a second."

She walked up to him, "What is it?"

"I'm going to connect the PDA into the keypad so Rembrandt can open it. Would you give me the PDA?"

Luna tried to pry said device off of the sleeve to no avail, "It- ugh- it won't come off!"

Rick looked at her and flicked the locks off with a smile.

She frowned, "Oh."

Rick pulled off the PDA and connected it into the keypad, "Start cracking at it Rembrandt."

The eye glowed on the screen, "It's been such a long time since I've been outside… I hope my skills aren't… _rusty_! Heha!"

Rick groaned, "What the hell…" He motioned for John to come over, "Hey John, hold this while I guard the hallway."

Rick switched places with John, "Oh yeah, because it's going to be so hard to defend the dead end of a hallway, right?"

"You never know. Besides, you got goddamn magic to hold up a gun and a PDA at the same time. Did you ever hold a PDA in one hand and fire an assault rifle in the other? I have. Okay, that's a lie, but it might happen one day."

"Like today?"

"Not today."

"Why not?"

"My tooth hurts."

John stared at him, "Where the hell did this conversation go?"

Rick checked his magazine, "Note to self: find a dentist, because I'm starting to run low on toothpaste back at the Everfree."

"Man, how long is this going to take?"

"Ask Rembrandt."

John stared at the eye on the PDA, "Can you take a guess?"

The eye blinked a few times, "A few minutes at worst. Might I ask who designed this infernal set of walls? The sheer amount of defense for a single room is highly unnecessary and a waste of resources."

Rick turned his head back, "That would be me."

Rembrandt's eye glared at Rick's back, "Paranoia is not a favorable trait."

"It is for an agent, so shut up and put your ass in gear with that door. Who knows what might show up soon."

Rick crouched down into a firing position and wiped his brow. It wasn't a very stressful environment, but the idea that something could pop out at any moment wasn't exactly the kind of thing to calm a person down. His ears caught some kind of sound nearby, something heavy. There were low thumps, and the sounds of something cracking approaching from the left. Rick pushed Luna back towards John and moved back into position. Out of the corner appeared to be a clawed hand that dug into the wall enough to give the mutant the momentum to swing itself fully into view from other hallway.

The massive creature was a sight to behold. It stood hunched at roughly seven or so feet, with legs that held joints in four different positions and feet that gripped the floor with an unwavering sense of stability and calmness. The arms of it were jointed like a human, but unlike a human, each held two sharp, serrated, tusk-like pincers that invoked an instant fear to whoever crossed it. The sheer crushing power that these held must have been used recently, due to there being pieces of flesh dug in between serrations. Two smaller arms with human hands protruded from the lower chest, most likely to hold a meal in place if it was getting too riled up. One physical feature that seemed to differ from the physiology was the head. It was oddly shaped in the sense that it looked as if someone took a perfectly symmetrical watermelon, turned it vertically, shrunk it drastically, then stuck a sharp nose, jagged, calculating eyes, and an adaption that unnerved the stomachs of anyone unfortunate enough to meet it. The mouth was a small hole with many sharp teeth circling the lining of the mouth half a dozen times while outside of it kept four separate appendages that could stretch around the neck of its victim and hold them in place as the mouth grinded through the bone and flesh. A horrific perversion of what was once human; this creature stepped before Rick with an unfriendly intent in its mind.

Rick stumbled back a step, "Oh shit… This is not good."

With that, Rick began firing at the creature with the bleak hope that he would make it out of the situation alive. The creature simply took the bullets in its chest as if it was nothing out of the ordinary. To Rick's surprise, it mocked him with a yawn.

"Oh hell no… You pay attention when I'm trying to kill you!"

Its cold eyes snapped to Rick and narrowed. They stared off for a brief moment before the creature let out an ear-shattering roar that forced Rick to recoil. Rick replaced his magazine and continued firing at the creature's head. His choice of area to attack was far more effective than the tough, scabby skin of the monstrosity. It began charging wildly and waving its arms around to try and decapitate Rick. Ducking under a swipe, he fell to the floor and pushed himself back while reloading again.

'GODDAMN! HOW MANY BULLETS CAN THIS FUCKING THING TAKE IN THE HEAD?'

Rick dodged a pincer brought down near him and used the chance to get up and away from the mutant. Despite nearly making it out of range, he was grabbed by the lesser arms and slammed to the floor. Stunned by the force of the slam, Rick wasn't able to counteract the inevitable maw that hungered for him. Before it was able to make a connection, however, a storm of gunfire pushed it back and away from Rick. He turned his head back to see John unloading his entire clip into the creature's face and forcing it off of Rick.

Rick stumbled back with his 550 in hand, "Thanks for that. That's the second time you've saved my ass today."

"I just asked myself, 'What would Rick do?' And it worked."

Rick let loose the rest of his bullets at the creature, who already recovered and was stomping its way to the two. With a quick smack from its arm, John was sent flying back towards the far end of the hallway. Luna ran to him and looked back at the creature. She quickly attempted to shake John from his unconsciousness, but no progress was being made. She turned back to Rick to see him struggling to get away from the mutant making dangerously close advancements. Luna took the PSS from her bra and, catching it off guard, fired at the atrocity's head. Rick's jaw dropped in shock to see Luna forcing the creature back with only a pistol, and a _Russian _pistol at that!

He shook his head, "LUNA! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?"

By some miracle, it fell onto its back and stopped moving entirely. Both Rick and Luna's hearts stopped as they waited for it to lurch up and cut them apart. When it stayed down, Luna dropped the PSS to the floor and stared at the body. Rick forced himself up from the floor as Luna turned around with tears in her eyes. He knew exactly where this was going.

"Listen, Luna, what you did wasn't wrong. It was far from it, and yo-"

Rick stopped as the mutant silently, without a single noise, stood up and brought its arms over Luna, ready to impale her skull and body. Luna hadn't noticed and Rick's mind suddenly went into a frenzy of thoughts and emotions. He knew what he had to do and what to prevent.

Time seemed to slow down significantly as Rick sprinted forward, "LUNA!"

He grabbed her shoulders and threw her to the floor behind him. His head quickly turned from her to the creature as the bone-like tusks came crashing into his body. One landed in his lung while the other dug itself into his digestive tract, dragging itself around and scraping his insides. Time returned to normal as the monster lifted him up and slammed him into the wall repeatedly, then it brought him down to the floor and grabbed his body with the lesser arms. Taking him into its hold, it leaned in close to his face and spoke in distinct, slow, and collected Chicago accent.

"Idiot. Father doesn't want you here, and you'd be smart to leave. But it's too late for that, isn't it? Hah…"

Despite the fact he was closing the gap to death, Rick was rendered shocked and speechless for a moment. He quickly regained his senses, "WHAT! YOU CAN TALK? MUTANTS CAN'T TALK!"

It leaned in closer and looked over his face, "Says who exactly? You're Eric, aren't you? I know your name. A genocidist. Despicable and deprived."

"Wh-who the _fuck_ are you?"

It chuckled before backing slightly, "Father has designated me unit: Charlie-Cipher. Pleased to meet the vilest living thing on Earth."

"You're one to talk, you disgusting, repulsive, cocksucking motherfuc-"

It dug its teeth into the left area of Rick's trapezius muscle. He screamed out in pain as its countless teeth sawed through the tissue and into the scapula, sending waves of unrelenting torture through his nerves.

It removed its mouth for a moment to speak, "Your body tastes just as disgusting as you are as a human. No matter, nutrients are nutrients."

It used the mouth appendages to latch onto Rick's neck and forcefully burrowed its mouth once more into his shoulder blade. Rick was slowly losing consciousness, and defeat was plain on his face as the creature began scraping up pieces of his muscle into its mouth.

John's eyes slowly opened as he tried to force himself up. He saw Luna rummaging through his backpack wildly as he tapped her with the last of his strength. She turned to see a pony close to passing out as he levitated his double-barrel sawn-off to her.

"Y-you have two sh-shots… Make th-them count… Get close to the h-h-head…"

Out cold, John slumped back onto the floor as Luna picked up the shotgun and ran towards the creature.

Rick's eyesight was dimming as blood loss was catching up to him. The suit would protect him to point, but the batteries _had_ to have been drained by now. He could start feeling the cold creep up on him as he did his best to hold out for some kind of last-minute miracle. He knew it wasn't coming, but hope was the last thing he could hold onto at this point. He wouldn't be able to be reconstructed in a different universe than the one his Chamber was in, so if he died here, it was permanently over.

No, it wasn't over, not like this. If he was going to die, he was going to do it fighting and in style. So Rick did what any sensible person would do in such a situation; he pulled the face of the mutant's to his and scooped out its eye before placing it between his teeth. He bit down, releasing blood, puss, and other fluids into his mouth, staining it. The taste of made him retch as bile piled up from his stomach. He released the bile onto the face (specifically the empty eye socket) of the mutant. Between its screams of pain and cursing, Rick was smiling at one last hoorah. It was short lived as the abomination's teeth came crashing down on him with more flair.

* * *

><p>"Ma'am? What's wrong?"<p>

"I-I felt something..."

"Pain, ma'am?"

"Yes... in my neck and chest... It's a familiar kind of pain, something I haven't felt in well over a decade..."

"Could it be a random occurence?"

"No... maybe. I feel like I know why it's happening, but I just don't know what's causing it to start now!"

"Didn't you once say that you had someo-"

"No. He's been dead for a long time..."

"But ma'am, didn't you say he died-"

"Over ten years ago? Yes. Yes, I did."

"Could that be a-"

"Coincidence? Sign? Some kind of miracle? No... he was killed. No way could he be alive..."

"Nanomachines don't lie, ma'am."

"That... That they don't. It's fine now, really. Please, get back to finding where these portals lead. I have the oddest feeling that those 'ponies' may be from somewhere were we can find answers."

"Right away, ma'am."

* * *

><p>Rick would die soon if nothing happened to help him in some way. The wounds were critical and most likely lethal, but some foam and chemicals would stave off death for a while until he managed to find a better source of health. That wouldn't come if something didn't save him right that minute, however.<p>

As if the angels themselves strolled up in heels to assist him, he heard the clatter of shoes hitting the floor. They were coming closer, but he wasn't able to look back to see what was coming at him. With his thoughts clouded, Rick closed his eyes to contemplate his possibly last few moments. He chuckled to himself when he remembered a joke, catching the attention of the mutant.

Of course, its attention was switched right to Luna who, carrying the sawn off in both hands, fired point blank at its face. The beads did what the bullets couldn't do and burst open its head like a gore-filled confetti popper. Luna was knocked off of her feet and onto the ground while bits and pieces of the living being _she_ killed splashed around the hallway.

Mortified, she dropped the shotgun and fell to her knees, "W-what did I _do_! I-I-I ki-killed it!"

She heard some wet coughing from near her, "G-good job… two points f-or the as-sssist."

Luna turned her head to see Rick under the creature's limp body, "Rick! What did it do to you?"

Rick managed to free an arm and wave her off, "It's just… a flesh wound…" He began laughing until he was cut short by the pain.

Luna tried to push the mutant off of him, but it was far too large and heavy for just her to move. A green aura covered it as the body was slowly tossed off, with the same aura lifting Rick onto his feet. Now that he was standing, Luna had a full look of the damage he received. The area the vest covered near the neck was completely cut through, as was the muscle and flesh underneath and down to the worn-down bone. One tusk left a large hole in his chest, most likely breaking a few ribs in the process, while the other nearly gouged out his intestines with the damage it did.

Rick noticed Luna's horrified look, "It's not bad… could've been worse…"

She reached out and touched the vest, staring at it, "Worse how? Wasn't this _thing_ supposed to protect you?"

Rick wiped some blood from his mouth, "I think your sister drained the battery when she slammed me into the wall… and it would have been worse if I was dead."

"Both of us know it's going to get worse, Rick."

They turned to see John rubbing his aching head. He hadn't sustained much damage from the hit, but it still tired him out well enough.

"If you're talking about being infected…"

"Do… you want me to do it?"

"No."

"Are you sure? You could turn on us at any moment…"

"That's implying that I _can_ turn."

John shook his head in confusion, "Wait, what?"

"I'm immune."

John stared at him before laughing, "Man, there are _no_ immune!"

Rick grunted, "I was already attacked by an infected priest years ago at Shephard's Island. He sliced into my stomach. No one said anything at the time, but I never mutated, so…"

"But the government said tha-"

"Fuck them, they don't know shit."

"You're telling me that you've never mutated from infection? How is that possible?"

"I don't know, it just never has. I've probably mutated somehow from radiation though, if that matters."

John stared at the ceiling, "Are you sure?" He looked back at Rick, "I don't think Luna will have the heart to put you out of your misery, nor will _her_ and Twilight. This could be your only chance."

"No, just focus on getting your daughter here and leaving."

"Are you sure?"

"How many times are you going to ask that? Let's hurry up and get to the garage, there's a medical kit in there with some foam."

Rick's ability to walk was severely hampered by his wounds, but Luna was able to give him some support as they walked to the door that was previously locked. John lifted the PDA and locked it onto Luna's sleeve before going into the garage.

Rick looked around in confusion, "My Aston Martin isn't here… Well, guess you'll have to take the Bentley Continental. Oh and grab me the medical kit near the wall."

The garage was filled with all sorts of random tools, wheels, car parts, and other supplies such as weapons, ammo, and canned food. The Bentley lied on top of an odd looking lift and pointed towards the garage doors, ready to leave at a moment's notice. John levitated a medical kit from a nearby bench and opened it. Rick pulled out the canister and shook it with what strength he had left. He pulled off the syringe and removed some familiar and glowing foam into it. His hands were shaking uncontrollably as he injected the foam into the shanked areas of his body. He shuddered when he felt the foam slowly take form as his new trapezius muscle. Once he finished, he looked over his upper body to see that everything was somewhat restored again.

Rick searched through the kit again and pulled out another syringe with a bottle of yellowish liquid. He used the syringe to extract some liquid and handed it to Luna.

"My hands won't be able to inject when they're shaking this much, so you'll have to Luna."

She cringed at the thought of using that to stab Rick after he saved her from that monster earlier, "Do I have to? Can't John do it?"

"His magic might contaminate the chemical. Just put it right here with one quick jab," he pointed at his heart, "then press down on the stopper to release the chemical. Trust me; I need the pain relief from this."

Luna took the syringe from his hands and frowned, "But it'll hurt you if I stab you in the heart with this…"

"It's small compared to what I'm feeling now."

"Does it have to be in the heart?"

"Quickest way to spread it. Just do it quickly, because if I do it, I'll probably mess up and stick it in the wrong place."

Rick removed his vest and kept a finger at the spot to inject him at. Luna slowly pressed it in as Rick bit down on his bottom lip. The pain he was experiencing now was nothing compared to sweet relief of drugs in his system and he was willing to deal with it just to get some kind of numbness. The idea of a piece of metal digging through a major organ wasn't very appealing, but the utter bliss from having such powerful painkiller in your system was motivation enough. Luna pressed down on the stopper and released the chemical into his body. Rick shuddered and simply stood there for a moment as the drug worked its magic.

Rick gave a stupid grin, "That's the shit right there… Only pros inject."

John chuckled, "Good to see you're back in the land of the living. Now, I'm going to bring in Tanya, so lock the door."

Rick kicked the door closed and locked it. A thumbs up later, John's horn glowed green followed by a flash of light. Rick turned away to avoid being blinded and was met with the little girl in her big, puffy jacket when he turned back. John hugged her, which didn't look as awkward as one would think, and led her to the car.

"Rick, are you sure you want me to take it?"

Rick pulled a pair of keys from a rack on the wall and threw them to John, "I won't be needing it. Everything you'll need is in there, specifically food, ammo, money, and guns. I just hope you can handle a classic like this."

"This thing is how old?"

"Too old… get inside; I'll open the garage doors."

"Rick, thank you. For everything. You really didn't have to do anything for us."

Rick chuckled, "Bah, fuhget 'bout it. Just get your ass in gear and outta this place."

John laughed, "Don't have to tell me twice." He turned to his daughter, "Are you ready, honey?"

Tanya looked at Rick and Luna, "But Daddy, what about them? Aren't they coming too?"

John smiled, "No honey, they're staying here. We have to go now, though, so get in the car and buckle up."

The young girl was about to protest leaving the other two humans behind, but a look from her father kept her in check. She quickly went inside the car and put on her seat belt while Rick began laughing.

"Nice kid you got there."

John gave a wary smile, "She can be more than just a handful sometimes."

Luna smiled back, "Please, take care of yourselves, and if you ever are in Equestria, come to Canterlot to see us."

"Will do, Princess. Rick, I don't know how to thank you for what you've done for me. I know you don't like to hear this but… you live up to your reputation, Mr. Martyr."

Rick's grinned, "Well, when you're pimpin' and stuntin' dumb hard like I do, thing tends to work out like that. Keep yourself safe."

John held out his hoof, "You too."

They shook their appropriate appendages with each other as Rick went over to control panel and hit a switch. John went inside the Continental as the garage door lifted to reveal that part of a building blocked off the garage from the outside.

John slammed his hoof against the steering wheel, "DAMN'T!" His eyes turned to Rick, "What now?"

Before Rick could answer back, the car was already lowering. John panicked as Rick smirked at him from his increasingly high position above him.

Rick cupped his hands over the noise of the lift, "FOLLOW THE TUNNEL UNTIL YOU'RE OUT OF THE CITY. YOU'LL END UP OUTSIDE OF CHICAGO'S EAST EXITS. IT'S ALL YOURS FROM THERE BUDDY."

John used his magic to increase the volume of his voice, "I CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH, MAN. HOPE YOU FIND WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR IN THIS WORLD."

Rick waved, "UNTIL NEXTTIME, MY BROTHER. MY PONY. MY... _BRONY!_"

John beeped his horn a few times and drove off through the tunnels. Rick sighed and turned back to Luna, who was giving me an extremely creepy smile.

"Uhh…"

"You know, I never took you for one to help others."

"That's because I usually never do."

She began circling him, "Oh? And what was that? You gave him and his daughter an escape with everything they could possibly need. What do you call that?"

"I call it-"

"Kindness?"

"Survival. Helping him helps his human daughter which helps the human race."

"But his daughter isn't human."

'Shit, she got me there… what to say…'

"She could stay human and live a human life and have human children."

Luna stopped in place behind Rick and stared at him for a moment. He didn't turn around and stood there while her she looked back at herself.

"Ch-children?"

"Yes, children."

An awkward silence rolled in for about a minute before Luna spoke up, "Rick."

"Yes?"

"What do you think about children?"

He turned around and looked at her blankly, "What do you mean?"

She looked down timidly, "How do you feel about them?"

"They're okay, I guess…" He raised a brow, "Wait though, you mean like _having_ children, right?" She nodded, "Well… I'm okay with that."

She smiled, "Really?"

"Luna, before we go on with this conversation, I should probably mention something. Do you know what sterility is?"

"I'm not familiar with that word. Would you mind explaining?"

"You see, I've been in contact with different substances through most of my life, whether it was drugs, radiation or chemicals."

"So?"

"These things aren't naturally meant to enter the human body, so they'll have different effects that may be irreversible."

"Like what?"

"Like the inability to reproduce."

Her face fell, "W-what?"

"I haven't ever been checked out for fertility, so I could be wrong, but there's a good chance I can't have kids."

"Bu-"

"And would it even be possible to have kids with a pony in a human's body? Would it still work the same way?"

"Rick…"

"Luna, listen, I'm not saying that I wouldn't want kids, it's just that I wouldn't want to get any hopes up. And really, should we be talking kids at a time like this? You seem so sure that I'm the right guy, but you don't know that."

"But I feel like you are… Why can't you accept that I love you?"

Rick's head hung low, "I-I don't want to disappoint you somehow. I can't understand what it is you see in me that makes you even want to be in the same room as me." He ran his hands down his face, "I mean, the things I've done, way I act, things I say, even the way I look should all scare you! You should dislike me for what I've been doing in your country and yet you still have some kind of affection for me! _Why_?"

"How can you not see it?"

"Huh?"

"We're so much alike in the way we expect to be disliked. We know each other better than we think and I believe that's why I like you so much. We've both been through a lot and we use our scars to protect ourselves from others."

Rick knew she was right, as much as he didn't want to admit it. Just about every part of him was a by-product of what he had gone through and his actions. He used material possessions and narcotics to hide the pain of living. A new car here, some heroin there, and a new watch if he didn't like the one he bought a week ago. It was some kind of disease that hid itself in your mind and used your fear and regrets to slowly destroy yourself and replace it with a worse version. It was the adaptation to live with guilt that he'd grown so accustomed to, and he used false happiness to try and hide it.

He looked at Luna. She was so right, and he was far beyond wrong in so many ways. Rick felt a creeping twinge of heartache when he remembered all the trouble he caused for her, like the battle in the town square, or the innocence-stealing story he told in spite. He really didn't deserve her, and he knew it. What could she possibly see in some cold-hearted bastard who only gave out mixed feelings to her? He regretted that; Rick felt like he was playing her by leading her on before.

Despite the fact that he'd only known her for a month, he still felt connected to her in a way that was just more than some average relationship. Was it love? Could love actually develop between two living beings that quickly? Or was it just lust disguised as love and given a prettier name? Was it even possible for love to even develop between two creatures from two different species? Rick knew the answer to that. Despite the blaring alarm in his head that said "NO" and the ideas instilled into his head by society, he could honestly say that he felt love for a pony princess Moon-goddess from another universe. He was beginning to accept that he couldn't control how he felt, as much as he tried to change that. Maybe it was time to finally move on and begin accepting others into his heart again…

Rick took Luna by surprise and pulled her in for a hug, "Thank you. I don't know how you do it, but you're always right Luna. You made me realize that I need to finally move on from what's holding me back… I think I feel the same way back, Luna."

Luna felt her heart skip a few beats as she looked up at him from his chest, "You mean you-"

He pulled her in tighter, "Love you? Yes, I think I really do… No, I don't think. I know I do. Luna, if loving you is wrong, I don't care about the consequences; I just want you by my side for as long as possible. You're the thing I've been looking for for so long. I want to be with you."

Luna felt some tears welling up in her eyes as she dug her face into his cotton shirt, "R-Rick, I don't know what to say…"

He used his index finger to lift her chin up, "Don't explain it, just name it. What do you feel right now?"

A wide smile came across her face, "Happiness."

"Me too."

Rick tilted his head and kissed Luna passionately for what seemed like eternity. As they explored each other's mouths, a faint, slow clapping could be heard. It eventually caught Luna's attention, and she forced herself to pull back.

"Do you hear-"

"Clapping?"

They both looked around to find the source, whether it was in the room or in some other part of the building. Luna subconsciously ran her left hand up Rick's arm, and it soon became obvious where the clapping was coming from. They both looked at the PDA's screen of an eye glaring at them while two white-gloved hands clapped slowly.

"Oh, would you look at that? It seems like my slow clap processor made it into the PDA. Can we actually get going now? Really, this place is dank, dirty, and reeks of motor oil. If it was up to me, ca-"

Rick muted Rembrandt before looking back at Luna, "He's right, we should get going soon. I still need to get something from the safehouse."

"Is it going to be safe to go now?"

"Let's see."

Rick unlocked the door and opened it to get a peek of what was outside. The hallway was occupied by a dozen and a half mutants that seemed very out of place. They lacked any special features, were plain, looked very brittle and soft, and simply clawed at the body of Charlie-Cipher. Maybe they weren't strong enough to tear apart his flesh and eat it… which was exactly what Rick wanted to hear. He shut the door and went past Luna towards tarp-covered object. He pulled off said tarp to reveal an old push mower fitted with an engine that looked as if it was ripped off of another vehicle.

"Okay! Shouldn't be too heavy. Now Luna, do you like references to really old movies?"

"Wha-"

"Perfect! Stay far behind me and avoid things that fly, alrighty? Let's begin!"

Rick lifted up the mower, which was surprisingly lighter than it let on, and kicked in the door. All of the mutants looked at him idly as he lifted his head and started at them from a higher perspective with a large grin.

"Party's over."

Rick started the mower as all of the creatures came barreling towards him. One by one, he chopped through them and spread their body parts all around the hallway. Blood was covering almost every surface as Rick began laughing maniacally at his performance. Bits and pieces of mutants littered the floor as the remaining mutants idiotically attacked the lawnmower carrying man. Rick's panting slowly subsided as he swung the lawnmower around to keep his defense against any of the now nonexistent mutants. He let go of it and let it turn off as he wiped the blood off of his face with his shirt. Rick leaned down, picked up something and held it out for Luna.

"Here, I think you stole this from me."

In Rick's hand was a partially destroyed heart. Luna's cringing at the sight betrayed her nervous smile. When it gave off a beat, Rick's eyes widened and he threw it as far as he could. It landed against a wall with a "splat".

"Ew."

Luna stared at the mess in front of them, "Couldn't you have found a better way to do this? This looks atrocious."

"I used a modified lawnmower to kill over a dozen mutated sacks of crap, what did you expect to happen?"

She stepped over a puddle of liquefied organs, "Something less messy."

Rick chuckled, "Well, too late now. Let's get back upstairs."

* * *

><p>After some walking and climbing, Rick and Luna were back at their start. Heavily panting, Rick held an arm against the wall and leaned towards it. He looked to Luna, who was perfectly fine from the climb up.<p>

"Are you *pant* seriously not tired *pant*?"

She smiled at him, "Not at all. And you?"

"I just climbed to the twenty-third floor of a building with low blood pressure from being attacked and partially eaten. What do you think?"

She shrugged, "I'd assume so."

Rick groaned and pressed the passcode into the door's lock. As soon as he opened it, he was tackled into a hug by a large, white pony and constricted to the point where he couldn't breathe properly.

"Oh Luna! I was so worried when Twilight told me you left with Ri-"

Princess Celestia opened her eyes and saw Rick trying to break out of her arms. She immediately dropped him to the floor and stomped a hoof near him.

"Why would you let her go with you? It was far too dangerous for her, yo-you-you _brute_!"

Rick got up and brushed himself off, "Yeah sure, blame me for her sneaking out and not Marfa Light Funkle over there for not stopping her."

Celestia glared at Twilight, who's only response was to smile embarrassedly and back up. She looked back to Luna and levitated her in close for a hug.

"Luna, please, don't do anything like that again…"

Luna broke loose from the hug and crossed her arms, "I can handle myself just fine, thank you very much. Just ask Rick at how well I did at surviving."

Rick delicately rubbed the area of the neck that was partially eaten, "She saved my life and killed the second strongest mutant I've ever seen. She's badass."

Celestia glared at Rick, "You call her your _vulgar_ compliments and let her _kill_? You sir, deserve nothing of her!"

Rick smirked and used his index finger to raise Luna's head up for a kiss. Celestia's jaw dropped as the astonishment mixed with anger took over. Once he broke off, Rick and Luna smiled at each other.

"Don't I know it…"

Luna giggled as Celestia glared deeply at Rick. Twilight simply stood there bewildered at the turn of events, Princess Celestia's reaction, and what both Rick and Luna just did. It was _obviously_ a kiss (the books in the library on relationships said so), but she didn't remember them having such a close relationship like that before (then again, she stopped reading the same book once it got to the "Friends with Benefits" part). It was interesting, to say the least.

Rick stretched his arms out and looked at his forearms as if a watch was there, "Welp, we probably only have so much time left… So how much time do we have left?"

Twilight moved closer, now more comfortable, "Roughly twenty minutes, but twenty minutes, and forty-two seconds left after I finish this sentence, to be exact."

"How the hell did you know you'd stop speaking at that exact moment where twenty minutes and forty-two seconds would be the time we have left?"

"I-"

"Whatever. I'm going to grab a few things before we go, so if you want anything, nudge books and shit nudge, get 'em now."

A delighted smile that dissolved some of Celestia's built-up aggression crossed Twilight's face. Rick walked off towards the hallway with Twilight not far behind. When they approached the study, Rick turned and went through the door opposite of it and left it open. Twilight was about to go into the study, but stopped short at the doorway. She slowly turned around and quietly peeked into the room Rick had gone into. Twilight saw him remove a strange painting from the wall to reveal a small safe.

Her eyes stayed on the painting for a good few moments before Rick made her jump.

"You know, I don't like it when people sneak up on me. It makes me want to stab them with something rusty."

Twilight swallowed but continued into the room regardless, "I've never seen anything like that painting before."

Rick looked down at it, "It's my favorite."

Twilight took her eyes off of Rick and stared back at the painting, "Why?"

"Because it coincides with what I believe in."

"What you believe in?"

"Yeah. I believe that no matter how many blows and devastations humanity might take, there will always be someone somewhere to carry on our legacy."

Twilight, now more confused, looked at Rick again, "What do you mean by your 'legacy'?"

"Humans… they're the epitome of perseverance. We're the perfect example of the virus called 'life', and we spread like wildfire with little to no regard for others in our way. Despite what's thrown at us a species, we've always survived and continued on. I believe that's what's going to happen now. Even though we've been crippled by an unknown enemy, we'll pull through somehow."

Twilight looked down, "How… how can you be so sure?"

Rick turned his head to her, "Because not only has the universe shit on us on many occasions, we've fucked each other over more times than countable. We're literally built to withstand hardship through experience and adaptation. That's why we're on the top of the food chain, by the way."

She frowned and looked at him nervously, "Rick, I've been meaning to ask you something."

"What?"

"Why don't you care about anything other than yourself or your gain? You _do_ care about your species and planet, but not much else."

Rick chuckled, "I just don't like to show I care about things, but I do."

Twilight blinked, "What? Why wouldn't you show that you care about things? It shows that you're stable and empathetic to something."

Rick crouched down to Twilight's face, "Because when you show that you care about something, it makes it a target to people who want to hurt you by hurting the things you care about."

"But who would want to hurt something you care about to get to you?"

Twilight mentally cringed at asking such a stupid question. _Of course_ somepony would want to hurt a pony like Rick, with his attitude he _must_ have made his fair share of enemies. His actions don't exactly help either.

"A lot of people." Figures, "And they each have a bone to pick with me. Me and AlRod always hated each other, but we kept our friendly smiles up. But why he would want to kill Selene to get to me is beyond me, because it's not like I ever did anything to turn him against me… What about you? You must have made some enemies."

Twilight was surprised, "Me? None that I can think of."

Rick frowned, "I think you have."

Confused again, Twilight asked the question Rick was waiting for, "Who?"

"Trixie."

"_Trixie_? What did I ev-" Twilight closed her mouth as she recalled the humiliation Trixie must have felt when she couldn't defeat the Ursa, only for Twilight to save Ponyville instead. "But that was over a year ago! She must have gotten over it by _now_!"

Rick shook his head, "She doesn't forgive or forget easily. She didn't like to be upstaged, and you just so happened to be the hero who did that. You may have done a good deed, but at the cost of Trixie's self-confidence, respect and living. But hey, what do you care? You saved your town, and that's worth more than one person's life, right? I mean, it's not like you can't just rebuild your town, unlike a person's reputation and wellbeing, which stays scarred. But really, you did good. Somewhere. I think. Maybe."

Twilight's ears fell, "I didn't mean to, it's just that-that-"

"She was 'boasting'?" Twilight nodded, "Who the hell cares? Let her if she wants to. I'd say she deserves to boast with how good she is."

Twilight's eyes widened in surprise, "_You_ of all ponies don't mind _her_ showing off?"

"Trixie's really good; I think she's allowed to bask in some limelight. Listen, unlike you, Trixie likes attention because also unlike you, she's naturally social." Twilight glared at Rick for that, "Well? Am I wrong?"

She sighed, "No, you're right. I don't really like the attention because I don't want ponies to think I boast about my ability."

"That's okay for you, but Trixie wants to be a famous magician, not some lackey to the Princess. She couldn't even get a goddamn job because of you. When it spread that she was lying about some of the things she did, no one would even pay her for a show. She never told me why she was in the forest that day, but I'm glad she was. I'm not glad that Trixie was pretty much disemboweled and that I had to fight an oversized cat, but we saved each other, so it all works out."

"Saved each other? How?"

"I heard her screaming, and I thought it was a woman, so I went to help. It ended up being Trixie who was pretty much close to death at that point."

"But you helped her?"

"Yeah."

"I don't mean to sound harsh, but why Trixie? I thought you didn't help anypony."

"I understand what you mean, but when I saw Trixie, I saw myself. Well, myself when I was younger and if I was a female pony. The point is, seeing her struggle was like seeing myself and there wasn't really anyone there to help me when I needed it."

"So you did for her what you wanted done for you when you were younger?"

"Exactly. I think our unofficial friendship was solidified the moment she gave me the last of her magic."

"She _gave_ you her _magic_?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, it's just that giving somepony else some of your own magic is a very personal thing."

"We worked together as she was lying in a puddle of her own blood, so I'm assuming she knew she had no real choice there. She probably did it because I actually showed up to help her and felt it was necessary to help back. It's funny; Trixie almost killed herself doing that. It was a good thing I decided to bring the gel."

"Is that stuff really that powerful that it can fix what happened to her?"

Rick narrowed his eyes, "How do you even know about that stuff?"

Twilight hoofed the floor, "Princess Luna might have let it slip that a certain monster used a jelly to heal itself from some wounds."

"Fine, whatever. And yeah, it can fix some bad stuff, but there's a cost."

"You mean it has negative side effects? What's the point of using it then?"

"Well, gee, I don't know why someone close to death would _not_ want to use a miracle medicine instead of dying and not just deal with the side effects later. It's better to stay alive and scarred then be dead. Take it from a person that's experienced death, it's not fun."

Twilight's jaw fell, "_You've died?_"

"Oh yeah, Luna landed a critical backstab on me."

"A wha-"

"Never mind, she just killed me. Anyway, the side effects of the foam-"

"I thought it was gel?"

"It can be both, depending on the temperature. Like I was saying, the side effects aren't really considered when you're about to die. Of course, my use of it whenever I get hurt isn't helping me much because obviously, I use it more often than recommended."

"What are the side-effects?"

Rick sighed, "It all depends on the original damage. If I lost a lung and replaced it with foam, I'd probably end up with lung cancer, which could be a possibility because I've already done that. More often than not, brain and nerve damage are what people usually get."

She gasped, "The effects are that serious? Why would it damage your brain?"

"Because the loss and gain of organs, body parts, and blood coupled with the reworking of nerves sends the brain mixed signals about what's happening. In other words, it starts to wear down your brain over time, and doesn't allow for it to be rebuilt unlike other organs. What happens is next to permanent unless you have a lot of money and a great neurosurgeon. Normally, a brain might have a chance to recover from the damage, but in most cases with the gel, it isn't given the chance. It eventually piles on until you, your brain, and your mind can't take it anymore."

"What happens then?"

"One of a few things. The most common is that you slip into a permanent vegetative state. Your psyche is gone at that point, and there's no hope of bringing you back as far as I know."

Twilight had a genuinely concerned face on, "Is that happening to you?"

"Probably. If not that, then it's being in stasis for god knows how long."

"That stuff in the vial?"

"Yeah. It screws up your head if you're in it for too long."

"How long can you be in it without any side-effects?"

"Three years before the mind starts to wear down. At five years, the person will either die from a heart attack as soon as they're released, or if they survive, be brain dead."

"Why would that happen just for being in the stasis?"

"Because being in stasis fluid means it will eventually seep into your system somehow. Normally, a small dose can be excreted by the digestive system provided the person is healthy. But when you're around four years in stasis, you've already accumulated enough to kill you and you can't digest while in stasis anyway so-"

"You're just waiting until you die…"

"Exactly."

"But you've been gone for-"

"Around a decade. Which means I've been in stasis for that long."

"Shouldn't you be-"

"Dead? Yeah, but it looks like the stasis in my system hasn't gotten to my heart yet."

"Your heart?"

"Stasis slows things by creating a 'bubble' around it. I don't really know how it works, but I have an idea from spending time in it. This 'bubble' slows everything around you but also puts you out cold, so when you're woken up, it'll seem like no significant time has really passed. Of course, in the other 'universe', you've already been gone for the amount of time you were originally in stasis for. So I haven't really aged for how long I've been gone, but I have stasis in my system which probably slows my aging process now. Not significantly, but I may last a year or two longer than normal. The point is, when stasis reaches your heart, it will usually slow it down and prevent blood flow, which will undoubtedly kill you unless you have some kind of medical tool and doctor nearby."

"So you're going to definitely die?"

Rick chuckled, "We all die someday, I just have my expiration date thrown randomly about."

Twilight frowned, "And you're not scared?"

"Scared? I've thought I was going to die so many times in my life that I can't be scared by it anymore. It's a really sad day when you realize that the things you do have taken away a basic instinct like fear of death. Anyway, is that all you wanted to talk about?"

Twilight stared back at the painting, "I don't understand it; what's happening in it?"

Rick bent down by the painting and studied it. It was of six dark, featureless figures standing an equal length apart on a wide street. The buildings and street were partially destroyed while the figures looked at a large brown monstrosity with reddish eyes. It was sunset, and all of the street was illuminated, clashing with the shadowy figures standing brave in front of the towering creature.

Rick noticed his hand was running down the side of the painting and sighed, "You know what it is. I've already explained it before."

Twilight squinted as she tried to recall when Rick ever brought up such a scene. Finally, it came to her, "That's you! And your team!"

"Yeah… and the big pile of walking shit is there too. Only two survived from that mission, and I think that this painting is a good reminder of the others."

"Who painted it though?"

"You know, Aden told me that trying to put my nightmares onto paper might help me deal with them. He was wrong."

"Wait, you painted this?"

"And yet, when I was doing it, it was better than anything I ever did before. I'm not artistic, and I suck at drawing. So how did this come out so well? Was it… Never mind, it's all in the past. Let's just leave it at that for now."

Rick got up and went over to the safe. After spinning in the combination and pressing in a key code, he opened it up and pulled out something from inside. Twilight became interested once she noticed how long he was staring at the small item in his hand.

* * *

><p>Finally fed up with the heels, Luna took them off and rested on the couch. It had been a long couple of hours and it was starting to take its toll on her. She yawned and searched around for something to occupy her until it was time to leave this universe. Admittedly, she was expecting something more… normal. Definitely not this apocalyptic city under siege by an enemy unknown by Equestria. She could only imagine what Rick is going through when seeing this. It must have been horrible.<p>

'I'm sure he'll be fine… He always is…'

Still, what if something like this happened to her world, or worse, Equestria? Would the same devastation wrought onto this world happen to hers? Would ponies be able to combat these things? Did magic work against them?

She blinked a few times. No, it would never happen. How could it possibly happen in Equestria? If that one pony named John was able to survive so well, surely others had the skill to do so as well. But he was scarred and scratched from something… Could whatever it was that caused these things to become what they are effect ponies or griffins or diamond dogs… Luna shook her head. There was no point in thinking about it. It wasn't like whatever caused this could suddenly pop up in Equestria.

Luna got up and stretched before walking down the same hallway Twilight and Rick had gone down. After passing by a few doors, she heard some speaking and immediately slowed herself down. There was a partially closed door with a light coming out of it, along with some voices. Luna tiptoed over to the door and listened. She mentally scolded herself for doing such an unprincess like thing, and in somepony else's home for that matter.

"… That's it? It's so small!"

"But it gets the job done. Why? I doubt you've seen any bigger than mine."

Luna felt the blood rush to her face as lewd thoughts surfaced in her head.

"Oh, I've seen _way_ bigger. It's pretty small."

"Well, I don't know what kinds of these your guys use, but here on Earth, it's pretty damn big. Women would love a man when she received one as big as this."

"Really? That's kind of weird."

"How? You guys don't like it big? Chicks here do."

"It's not that we don't like it big, it's just that we have much bigger ones to choose from. Yours kind of pale in comparison, no offense."

"No, why would I take offense when I was just told that it wasn't good enough?"

"That's not what I meant! What I meant was that we have different customs in regards to that."

"Really? So what would Luna think of this thing? She seems to be the kind of gal who likes it rock-solid."

Luna's face was blushing so much, she hardly felt anything past the heat anymore. After hearing this much of such a_ dirty_ conversation, she couldn't stand it anymore. She pushed in the door and tried to put on her best "angry" face while walking in.

"And _what_ is going on in here?"

Rick immediately put something behind his back before Luna could spot it. Twilight smiled nervously as Luna looked her from hoof to horn in an evaluative manner. Satisfied, she turned back to Rick and stared at him with her arms crossed.

He looked back, "What?"

"Exactly! _What_ is going on here? And _what_ are you hiding behind your back?" She moved her face in close to his and bulged her eyes out, "HMM?"

Rick was confused, "Uhh… What?"

"Why were you talking about your… your..."

She turned away in frustration as Rick rubbed the back of his neck, "You mean this?"

Rick held out his hand to show Luna a small, velvet box.

She eyed it then looked back at Rick, "What is it?"

"A box with something in it. I don't think you'd understand what it is, so there's no point in showing it."

"Not understand? How could I not? It's probably something I've seen before."

Rick shook his head but opened the box regardless, "Take a look then."

Luna's gaze met the odd looking object in the box. It was shaped like an earring and held a small (by Equestrian standards), well-cut diamond on top of it. Luna didn't understand why Rick would attempt to hide something like this, but he must have had some kind of reason.

"An earring?"

"Nope."

"What else could it be?"

Rick chuckled, "A wedding ring."

Luna froze, "A w-w-w-wha? A _wedding_ ring? Wh-why would you need that?"

Rick shrugged, "No reason, just didn't want to leave it behind. Never know when it might be useful somewhere."

"Oh. So you two were talking about that diamond? Not Rick's p-"

"Oh hell no. If we were talking about that, Twilight would be all, 'That shit is huge, man!' and I would be like 'Yeah, I know.' Then I'd just walk away."

Twilight rolled her eyes, "I don't speak like that, and even if I did, I don't think I would say that about your arm."

Both Rick and Luna slowly turned their heads to Twilight, who was looking in the other direction. She nearly jumped when both of them began laughing out of nowhere. Her ears fell when she realized she was obviously being left out of something.

"What's so funny? _What_?"

Still laughing, Rick pocketed the box and put his arm over Luna as they walked out of the room. Twilight was left by herself, unsure of what just happened and with a mild sense of abandonment. She sighed and followed the others out of the room and into the living room.

* * *

><p>"Well, there's nothing else to do at this point other than to wait. I'd put some TV on, but that option was exhausted when someone launched a remote into it."<p>

Rick stared at Celestia from across the couch, and was returned a somewhat annoyed glare.

"Really, your technology makes no sense, so how was I supposed to know how it works. How can pictures even move and make sounds just because they are in a box and have a current running through it?"

"It's called using pixels and speakers."

"What do pixies and royal announcers have to do with this box?"

Rick ran his hand down his face, "It's- I- You know what? Fuck it. It uses magic. Magic harvested from the Earth's mantle."

Celestia laughed, "Everypony knows the Earth's mantle doesn't have enough magic to do any significant work."

Rick's brow furrowed as Twilight agreed, "It's true, the Earth's mantle doesn't have as much magic as the crust or core."

Rick frowned, "I could honestly not give a shit about this conversation. Good god, I need some wine."

Another thought crossed Twilight's mind, "Hey Rick, are there any religions on this planet?"

Rick slowly turned his head towards her, "Loads of 'em. Most are different, others are different sects or variations, a few are the same and there are some who believe in no religion whatsoever. Some are polytheistic, others monotheistic. No two religions are _completely_ the same, but some get really close, like tribal religions."

"Do you worship the leader of your country?"

Rick began laughing without conviction at Twilight, and didn't let up until he finally managed to calm himself down a minute later, "Ha… uh… maybe if you're a redneck or something. Most people who follow religion here have a god or gods, depending on which religion."

Twilight, genuinely curious, asked the question on her mind, "Are you part of a religion?"

Rick glared at her, "Let's… not go in to this. It won't end well, I'm sure."

Celestia smiled, "Is there something wrong? Afraid, are you?"

Rick scowled at her, "You're kidding, right? Religious discussions with humans almost always never end well, so you might just want to drop it."

Celestia prodded more into it, "So you're afraid that we'll outshine your 'god'?"

She didn't notice that Rick clenched his fist, "Really, if you're just trying to fuckin' piss me off, you're doing a damn good job."

"Why are you being so defensive?"

"Why are you being a stuck-up shithead?"

She smirked, "I'm trying to have a rational discussion with you, but you don't seem to be willing to share."

"Listen closely, I don't want to talk about religion, what religion I'm part of, or how you think your gods, because none of this shit concerns me or you."

Celestia stood up and spread her wings out, "We don't think we're gods, we _are_ gods."

Rick began laughing, "You ain't _shit_, bitch! Let me tell you something about humans and gods. Humans usually kill their gods throughout history or they're either denounced to being a human. It happens in a lot of non-Abrahamic religions. Hell, the Japanese used to think their emperor was a god, but two nukes over him and the guy steps down."

"I'm not sure what it is you're talking about, but I assure you that we're too powerful to be killed so easily as your gods."

"Huh. 'Our gods.' I'm not exactly a religious person, so I don't see you as a god and even if you were, you could still get killed."

"So you don't follow a religion?"

Rick crossed his arms, "My parents did, but I guess I kept it more so as an affiliation. Never read the Bible, the Torah, the Qur'an, or any other religious text, and I don't really ever dwell on thinking about this stuff."

"But where are your gods?"

"In just about every religion, the god or gods almost always never directly interact with humans."

Celestia looked surprised, "What? How would you even follow what they say or listen to them?"

Rick scratched his beard, "Everyone does it different, I guess. Most people just have faith in old pieces of writing detailing what they should do to please their god."

"_Really_? That's… interesting. So you don't have a god to command you in person?"

"Nope. People do what they want for the most part. Some people don't even believe in gods or religion at all, and others just never heard of it."

"You humans are so…"

"Complicated?"

"Yes."

"Like I said before, we all think differently and have different beliefs. Combine that with the fact that there are nine billion of us on the Earth at once, and you get some pretty interesting results. Well, now that you're done trying to trash our different ideologies and beliefs, I think I'm going to get a drink." Rick got up and walked away only to turn his head back, "Oh, and don't think you're tough shit and invincible. Because here on Earth, you're far from it. And one more thing, John was lying. He played you so hard you actually believed he was serious about eating meat. Really, a horse can't even properly digest meat without probably throwing it up. The fact that you believed he was serious sure does say a lot." He smiled and walked away content.

Luna followed Rick into the kitchen, where he opened the fridge to get another bottle of wine. He set it on the counter as Luna took a seat and watched him grab two wine glasses from a cupboard. Rick set them down and used a corkscrew to remove the cork. He poured some into both and sat down across from Luna.

"This isn't that bad, is it?"

Luna took a sip from her glass, "Not at all, in fact, it's quite nice."

"I used to drink wine and listen to music all the time in this safehouse. Man, those were the days… Living easy, going to restaurants, making money…"

"Sounds like you really enjoyed yourself."

"Sometimes. Most of the time it was pretty lonely without anyone to share it with and it kind of lost its coolness. But man, you haven't had a great day until you're sipping wine, watching the sun set over Chicago, and listened to some fine music from way back."

"Way back? As in a long time ago?"

"Yeah. For some reason, I like to listen to the music from two hundred years ago. It was so much better than what we have now. Great composers, rappers, singers; greater everything. Hell, we still use the same technology as we did back then, but that's because of the huge depression that happened a long time ago. Anyway, it was really something else."

"How was it Rick? Before all of this happened to your planet?"

Rick stared off reminiscently into the distance, "You know, it was pretty good. I realize that I shouldn't be complaining about my world, because now that I think about it, I know that it was stupid of me. My world is so great… I think anyone who says they hate humanity or the world for all of the shit its done is retarded. They don't understand that they're lucky to be human and that they're being childish by showing they don't appreciate it."

Luna didn't say anything for moment as she took another sip, "You know, it seems like a very interesting place. I haven't seen anything so different from Equestria in such a long time. We have large cities, but not in the sense where they approach this magnitude. You don't even have magic or wings to help you construct these buildings all over your world, yet you do so anyway."

"Cities are the legacies of humanity. They're our testament to our will as a species and our drive to supersede everything in our way."

"Is that what all humans think? That they're part of some ever-growing legacy?"

"I don't think most people realize that they are, so I guess not. But it's true; they are part of the greatest species to ever have existed on Earth. We've adapted to nearly every environment, climbed every mountain, fought our way to the top of the food chain, and established our dominance over the world. We're the pinnacle of evolution, and I'm damn proud to be part of humanity."

"You talk like your all one collected force out to be the best, but according to your stories, that can't be true. You all fight each other, don't you?"

"When we don't have a common enemy, like we do now, we fight each other over different reasons."

"Like what?"

"Money, power, land, resources, politics, stuff like that. Don't you have that in your world at all? I'm sure some countries must fight with each other."

Luna shook her head, "None that we've heard of as of recently. Far, far back, there would be fighting among nations, but it's mostly died down to squabbling since."

"You know, lack of wars makes nations soft."

"And what's wrong with that?"

"You won't be able to properly defend yourself against an invasion… We've had this conversation before, haven't we?"

Luna put down her glass, "I believe so. Let's talk about something else."

Rick took a sip of wine, "Like what?"

Luna spoke while running her finger around the rim of the glass, "Oh, I don't know… you?"

He was visibly surprised, "Me? What about me?"

"I just wanted to know more about you. Is that too much to ask?"

"No… no, of course not. What do you want to know?"

"I'm not sure, but try to start somewhere early."

"Wait, you want my life story or something?"

She smiled, "Something like that."

"There's not much to say, really. I grew up in Brooklyn in a nice house not far from the hood, oddly enough. My parents loved me as much as parents could, my sister was as much as a pain in the ass as sister could be, and I lived a somewhat normal life."

"Somewhat normal?"

"Weird occurrences."

"It would be better if you defined these 'occurrences' somehow."

"You can't really explain them. Sometimes you walk around feeling like your being watched, or a shady character slips by your peripheral vision, or hell, maybe a crackhead comes up to asking your opinion on grassroots lobbying's effect on Washington. I wasn't sure really if other people had this kind of stuff happen to them, but it eventually clicked that things weren't exactly normal. I just ignored it at that point and decided to live as normal a life as possible for a kid."

"Did anything special every happen?"

"I killed my first living thing at ten, if that counts."

Luna gave him a mortified look, "That young?"

"Well, the dog attacked me first."

"A diamond dog attacked you? I doubt you would survive against one at such a young age."

"A what? No, a regular dog. These 'diamond dogs' aren't like our dogs; our dogs can't speak and walk on all fours."

"Like a pony? Interesting."

"Yeah, so anyway, I see this dog down the street being held on a leash by some guy. Guy's hand slips, dog gets away, dog runs at me out of nowhere. Now, I wasn't paying attention to this Pitt Bull and for whatever goddamn reason, it blindsided me and got me to the floor. Before I go further, I'd like to mention that I stole my father's combat knife that day. Luckily, I didn't stab myself and was only scratched by the fall. So this dog gets me to the floor and bites my arm out of nowhere and without any hesitation _at all_."

Luna gave a light gasp, "What did you do?"

"Screamed. Then when nothing came to help me, I realized I had to take initiative to protect myself. I pulled out the knife and stabbed it into the left eye of the dog, then the neck. I made sure he couldn't get back up to attack me."

"What happened after that?"

"People came by and saw me and a dog covered in blood. Must have been quite a scene, because it attracted some attention. The owner started flipping out on me and cursing, then he tried to move close to me. I was already scared shitless from the dog attacking me, so when I saw this big guy move near me with that angry look in his eye, I just lost it. I held the knife out at him and faked lunges to get him to back off, which he eventually did. That made me realize something important that I still use today."

"You actually learned something useful from that ordeal?"

"Yeah, deterrence is a fine tool to use against people intimidating you. Especially when that deterrence is a gun or weapon. Anyway, I run back home and give my dad back the knife. I was waiting for him to just start going off on me, even though he never did before, but I was pretty surprised when he patted me on the shoulder. I opened my eyes and I could see some kind of pride in his. It wasn't the reaction I was expecting, I'll tell you that."

Luna looked astonished, "He was _proud of you_?"

Rick scratched his beard, "He told me that he was disappointed that I would steal his knife, but he was kind of proud that I at least used what I stole to protect myself. I think… I think that's what he wanted all along. For me to learn how to protect myself and my family."

"That's quite the unorthodox lesson."

Rick shrugged, "Hey, if it works, it works."

Luna stared back down at the counter, "I hope you don't mind me asking but… Whatever happened to your father?"

Sighing, Rick responded, "Its fine. It goes back to when I was thirteen. My mother was killed in the most bizarre way possible."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I'll understand perfectly if it's too personal."

Rick smiled, "I thought we were trying to get rid of that barrier."

Luna placed her hand on Rick's, "I just don't want to bring up anything painful that may hurt you."

"Trust me; I've gotten over this stuff a long time ago. So, my mom ends up getting murdered in the _weirdest_ way."

"Weird how?"

"She was at a bank in the Bronx and making a withdrawal when some dipshits tried robbing the place. They were armed well, but my mom was an agent, just like my dad. She had experience over them, but only a handgun too. The bank gets surrounded by cops, and the guys take hostages. They were about to execute them, which was stupid as fuck, but my mom intervened. It was her with a 1911 versus three guys with sub-machineguns and a shotgun. She actually managed to kill each of them somehow, but she was mortally wounded in the process. My mom was shot in the lung, right leg, left arm, and finally, her neck. It would be next to impossible to save her at that point, and she ended up dying sometime before the cops went in."

"She died trying to save those ponies?"

"People, not ponies. But yeah, she saved them I guess. I'll be honest, at her funeral, I didn't cry."

"_What_?"

"Yeah. I don't know why, but I felt like I never really lost anything that day. I never felt close to my parents, despite how much they loved me. I was too much of a maverick to want to spend time with them. Jenine cried and was pretty sad for a while, like she should have been. My dad though," Rick exhaled, "now _that_ was sad. He didn't leave his bedroom for almost two months. After that, he sort of became his normal self, with the exception of his new found overprotectiveness."

"Well I wouldn't blame him, seeing as though what happened to your mother. But what I don't understand is how you would consider her murder to be exceptionally odd."

"She was an agent, not some cop. Agents usually die in the field or another country, not by their own countrymen and women. It was an unlikely occurrence."

"But how does her death relate to your father?"

"He was killed in the same way every other Vali man before us did. During extraction, and right after finishing a mission. Shot right through the back of the head with a high powered sniper rifle. There wasn't much of a head left after that, so it was a closed-casket funeral. I was seventeen when it happened, but I felt so much older. Like with my mom, I wasn't particularly distressed or saddened by it. I feel disgusted with myself over the fact that I couldn't care about it, but what can I do? Anyway… after all of his friends and acquaintances, and there were literally hundreds of them, left, I opened the casket when no one was around."

"W-why would you do that?"

"To see what might happen to me next. That day, I saw my own mortality and it disgusted me. Now there was no one left to protect us, so I was left with only one _real_ choice."

"You became the person you are?"

"Not yet. I was presented the choice of either living in the streets with my sister, her becoming an agent, or me becoming an agent. One of us had to or we wouldn't be able to continue living in our house because the Agency held it. I didn't want her to die like my dad did, and I knew she wanted to follow her dream of being a doctor, so…"

"You took her place?"

"Right."

A small smile curved on Luna's lips, "That was very selfless of you. See, you aren't as bad as you think you are."

"Lot of good it did later. She ended up joining up after some time as a doctor in New Jersey. Jenine only spent four months as a doctor after Harvard and then began training as an agent. Man, did I go off on her about how stupid it was of her to do that."

"But don't all doctors require residency and experience before becoming _real_ doctors?"

"We have hook-ups around the U.S. to take care of that stuff for us. Anyway, while she was at Harvard, I was at Yale being trained in everything I needed to know about physics, engineering, and combat engineering."

Luna looked confused, "What exactly is 'combat engineering'?"

"Probably the only real thing I remember from back then. Instead of using conventional engineering methods to create something, we use present materials as a substitute to hopefully get a working piece of equipment. We call it combat engineering because during combat you may be forced to use whatever you can find to help you. Thus, the name stuck despite it usually being used while in some kind of safe place away from danger. Jury-rigged and hashed together items are the usual products, and I've been using it more since I've came here. Specifically, I used combat engineering to make my stealth suit and the stasis shield over the Everfree Castle."

"So you've been creating things despite not knowing how to actually make them?"

"In a sense, yes. But what's weird is that a lot of the materials I have on the shuttle shouldn't be there. There is a lot of unconventional stuff in there that I didn't expect to see."

"I'm sure it was someone looking out for you."

Rick stared at her, "What makes you say that?"

She took a sip of wine, "Just a feeling."

"Hmm. Well, to get back on track, I'll continue. After three years at Yale, where the Agency practically bought off professors to personally teach me along with military instructors, I was put into a team of my choice to be an engineer. I chose the Recon and Disposal of Paranormal Anomalies Group, or RADPAG for short. First mission was just doing scans in an abandoned factory with high anomalous activity for a few hours. Nothing really happened but when we got back, that's when shit really started to hit the fan. These guys are dead-serious about their jobs when anomalies pop up and it was weird seeing them acting like that. The place was dangerous and rickety, so we had to stick together if we were going to get away from those things alive and sane. But… I was separated from the group when I ended up falling down a mineshaft that was covered by rotted wood. It was dark, so I couldn't tell that it was about to give way. I didn't know where I ended up, but I wasn't hurt, so that was a plus. I managed to make my way through the tunnels and out by some forest."

"You walked through a mineshaft and the entrance led to a forest?"

Rick shuddered, "That's when things got _real bad_. It was sunny for some reason, so I figured I was knocked out for some time, but then I checked my watch. It was midnight."

"But how is that possible? Maybe it was only noon?"

"No, I checked my PDA too, it was definitely midnight. I walked out from the entrance and into the clearing and then the craziest things starting happening. I heard what sounded like a load of horses coming my way from the nearby dirt road. I ducked by a bush and watched them go by. They had these weird looking guys on them. They were dressed like-like they were _colonial_! They weren't even colored at all, they were gray! I looked at the ground where the horses were and you know what I noticed?"

Luna cringed slightly in suspense, "W-what?"

"There were no tracks being left by the horses, only a faint mist. I felt like my heart was about to explode, but then it got worse. The things left, but then the sky started changing between night and day. It kept repeating itself and going faster and faster until it just stopped at night again. I was still in the bush for I don't know how long, but then I heard the roar of gunfire around me. I looked around to see if my team was fighting the anomalies, but it was something else instead! There was a firefight going on between what looked like soldiers and civilians or rebels, right in the clearing. I thought it was real until I saw one guy running towards the bush I was in. He was shot to the floor dead only a few feet away from me, but I saw his face…"

"H-h-his f-face? Wh-what was wrong w-with it?"

"It was like only a thin veil of skin covered his skull, nothing else. No eyes, no nose, no lips, no ears. I could see all of his skull cavities clearly in the dark and it traumatized me to the point where I was left in bush lying in the fetal position with my hands over my ears. It must have been hours of hearing them fight without seeing it until it was morning again. Eventually, the groans of the wounded and dying slowly faded away. I got up and tried to find the people to see if I could help them with their wounded. I spent an hour looking for the bodies or anyone for that matter, but all I found were some torn, old clothing, a few broken and rusty guns, and some cracked bones here and there. After that, I was spent. I just sat down in the middle of the sunny clearing like a broken man. I slowly lied back and felt myself drift away into sleep. Then, when I woke up, it was night again and these things were looking at me."

Luna was definitely beyond frightened at this point, "T-t-things?"

"Yes, things. Long, black, and slender creatures with nearly no features. They were tall and humanoid in structure, but lacked certain little things. Some had missing fingers or toes, one maybe had no left ear, a nose, or mouth, but they all had some kind of observing look to them. They just watched me as my heart stopped from on the floor. I don't know how long I lied there staring back at them, but it was the single most excruciatingly suspenseful moment in my life. Then, I felt something I never _truly_ felt before. It just clicked in my head like it was always there. I felt my humanity slip away and something else replaced it. It was like I just became a feral animal that was cornered. I couldn't believe myself when I jumped up and started snarling with my knife sticking out at them. I spun around to make sure they couldn't get near me, but they didn't do anything. They just watched me until I felt myself crumble under their stare. They broke me without words or actions and I was left on the floor staring at them. Then, they all just converged on me. I blacked out… When I woke up, I was back at the factory. I sat up like I had a rocket strapped to me and was sweating like crazy. I swung my head in every direction and only saw the team looking at me. Those concerned faces… the assholes didn't know what I went through… They told me I fell down the shaft, climbed back up, and had a heart attack right as I got back onto the concrete floor. They said they couldn't bring me back and that I was dead for a good fifteen minutes. That's more than enough time for irreversible and extensive brain damage. But then they said I just woke up sweaty out of nowhere, like I had been knocked out the whole time. I couldn't believe what I was hearing, but I decided to go with it for then. No point in bringing up what I saw unless I wanted to have a lobotomy performed on me. When I got back to normal, they told me that once I fell down the shaft and got back up, literally all anomalous activity ceased. I checked to see if I had everything on me at the time, but I found something extra. It was a rusty trigger piece from a 1911. I nearly died right there from _that_. But we eventually left after some more tests and when we got back to New York, I officially _demanded_ a transfer to another agency. No questions asked, fortunately. I eventually got stuck with TTG when it was being reassembled by Jethro and he pretty much trained and mentored me from there. Everything else is just history that will never be recorded."

Rick looked at Luna again to see a fidgeting person desperately trying to drink some wine to calm herself down. She tried to pour herself more, but her shaky hands clinked against the glass's rim and only spilling a little inside. Rick felt some remorse for scaring her to the point where she was going to have nightmares, but she _did_ ask. He shook his head and grabbed the bottle from her and poured some.

"Sorry for that. I got carried away."

A weak smile formed on Luna's face, "R-really. It's f-f-fine."

She downed her glass in one gulp and slowly stopped fidgeting, "Much… better…"

Rick smiled, "Well, that's just about it. Anything else you want to know?"

Luna frowned, "No! I-I mean, 'No, thank you.'"

Rick chuckled and leaned back in his chair, "Tis but an odd life we live for the safety of others. But it's all worth it when you just get to come back home."

Rick sat his chair back on all of its legs again and poured both glasses half way, "Luna, it's been a hell of a homecoming today, but it was all worth it just to finally clear the air between us and get some closure." He held out his glass to her, "To where the heart lies. Home."

Luna smiled sympathetically and tapped glasses with him, "To home."

They both downed the rest of the wine in their glasses before setting them down on the counter.

Rick smiled and spoke loudly, "No point in trying to hide, I know you heard all of that."

Luna's face crinkled in confusion as she turned around to see Princess Celestia and Twilight coming from around the corner. Obviously livid that they would spy on their personal conversation, she crossed her arms in a huff.

Rick placed a hand on her arm, "Now Luna, they were only interested in how much bullshit I've gone through. Let it go. For now."

Luna's gaze softened as she uncrossed her arms, "Why?"

"Because things could have gone a lot worse out there today. We should be thankful that we made it back in once piece."

Luna instinctively put her hand to the sleeve Rick gave her. She considered how she never even bothered to use it. Luna then recalled how Rick probably could have been saved the torture of being eaten alive by that _thing_ if he had it with him. But he pushed her out of the way instead and put himself in her place. It would have been her that was being torn apart by those saw-like teeth. But he sacrificed himself instead. She didn't deserve to have something that could be put to better use by someone so much more deserving. Slowly, the tears began to well up in her eyes as her hand went to remove the sleeve, only to be stopped by Rick's.

"B-bu-"

"Nope. You're keeping it."

Luna could see his figure being distorted by the tears, "Why?"

"Because if I'm ever not there for some reason to be your human shield, at least you'll have some backup just in case. Protect yourself, Luna. For me."

A wide smile formed on Luna's face as they leaned over the counter to embrace each other in a kiss. It lasted for almost a minute before being interrupted by someone clearing their throat. They took a few more seconds before another throat being cleared. Then another few more seconds before they finally broke off and slipped back into their seats with their eyes staying on each other.

"I don't think we have much time left here. A minute a most, actually."

It was obviously Celestia speaking, but Rick didn't pay attention. He poured just a little more wine into both of their glasses and smiled at Luna. She smiled back as they held them to each other.

They spoke in unison, "To home."

Right as they finished their wine, a bright light engulfed them, leaving only empty glasses and a bottle of wine on a kitchen counter.

* * *

><p>Rick sighed contentedly, "Today… was a good day…"<p>

"I'll say."

Rick looked to his side to see Luna, "Back to normal, I see."

Luna looked at her body to see that she was back to her original self. Now a pony again, she wondered if Rick's attitude towards her would change. Rick caught on to her worried expression and chuckled.

Crouching down slightly, Rick place his hand on her cheek, "I know what you're thinking… And no, it doesn't matter to me. You do, not whatever body you're in."

"Oh…"

Luna reached her forelegs around Rick in a hug. Despite being somewhat interested in how that was possible or comfortable, Rick returned it.

He pulled back for a moment and looked Luna in the eyes, "Admittedly, it's going to take some getting used to with this, seeing as though this goes against what I've ever thought was moral and right. But… I'm willing to make things work out if you're willing to."

Luna nuzzled Rick, "Good, it's pleasant to know that we can move past that."

"So… do you have any complaints about my body? I understand if you do."

Luna frowned, "Well… I wouldn't know how we would… you know… _do anything_."

"And by 'do anything' I'm assuming you mean…?"

"Do I really have to say it?"

Rick grinned, "Just whisper it into my ear."

Luna pouted but got close to his ear nonetheless, "Ahem… sex…"

Rick began laughing, which forced Luna to blush at her awkward position. She let go of Rick and sat on her haunches as he caught on to her change of mood.

"Ahh, okay. Well… I remember Selene's favorite sex position was reverse cowboy," he stared at Luna for a moment before continuing, "which seems oddly fitting in this case."

Luna gave him a confused look, "Umm, 'cowboy'?"

"It's an old thing from way back. Guys that would shoot revolvers, save women, and ride their horses into the sunset… That seems way too coincidental… What the hell…"

"I don't understand."

"I shoot revolvers and saved you. All I need to do is ride a horse… ponies are technically horses, right?"

"We prefer not classify ourselves as hor- Oh. Oh! Oh… I see." She blushed, "That's a very lewd thing to say."

"Well, I can't help but say things like that when aro-"

Rick was cut off by someone or somepony clearing their throat through what sounded like a megaphone.

Luna turned her head to Celestia, "Sister, why are you using the traditional royal Canterlot voice?"

Celestia stepped away from them and out towards the balcony, "Because somepony needs to raise the Moon, perhaps? The ponies must be in turmoil over the fact we've been gone past sunset and haven't raised the Moon."

"No matter, I just need to go and do it now."

Luna walked over to the balcony and flew off to raise the Moon, with Rick leaning on the rail to watch. He didn't really understand how a relationship could work out with a pony of all the god-given things to be in one with, but it was probably time to stop considering these kinds of things and just go with the flow. He silently chuckled to himself as he still considered his sanity and ability to rationalize the idea of dating a pony. A royal one at that too…

He felt something tap his shoulder, "Yeah, what do you ne-"

Rick was cut off when something landed a blow to his cheek. Strong enough to knock him to the floor in surprise, Rick forced himself to scramble to his feet and look around for whatever it was that did it. His gaze turned to an innocent-looking Celestia who simply stared at him. Rick's mood instantly turned sour.

"Why the fuck did you just punch me?"

She looked shocked, which only fueled his anger more, "_Excuse me_? What are you talking about?"

"Don't act like you don't kn-"

Another force hit Rick in the forehead as he stumbled back. Both Twilight and Celestia saw the act this time and looked for whatever culprit was causing this. Rick steadied himself and stared at whatever was terrorizing him. A faint shimmer appeared in front of him as he was grabbed by the collar and held over the edge of the balcony. With no chance to possibly get away from whatever this was, Rick spat in front of him. It landed against the air and slowly slid down an invisible figure. Rick's eyes widened as he realized what was happening. Only two words were uttered before Rick was thrown off the balcony high above Canterlot.

"Gute Nacht."

With a single shove, Rick was tossed off one of the highest points in Canterlot. He quickly picked up speed as his descent towards the garden below became closer and closer. With every second passing his inevitable demise approached. That was the scenario until a mix of blue, purple, and white auras covered him and tried to slow his fall. Of course, the auras were only able to slow him down so much until he hit the dirt far below. Instead of becoming splattered into an early grave, Rick was merely crushed under the fall and slipped into a much-needed state of unconsciousness before he could see the damage he sustained.

* * *

><p>Rick slowly came back into reality as he gripped it in his mind. He ran a quick run-through of what had happened. A scowl formed on his mouth as he slowly opened his eyes, the drowsiness and coldness being burnt away by the spite and anger. It melted away once he noticed Luna watching him from a nearby chair. Before saying anything, he took notice of the fact he was in the same room as the last time he was critically injured. Rick couldn't move anything other than his head, but that's all that he needed for now.<p>

"Luna."

Caught off guard by Rick's sudden awakening, Luna jumped out of the small chair and put her forelegs on the bed, "Rick! I was so worried! What happened?"

Rick's head began to throb, "Old friend. Pain in the ass. Dick move."

"What are you talking about?"

"It was him… Tobias. He just tossed me out the window of your sister's room. By the way, how many days have I been out? Its night, so what, like a week or two?"

Luna shook her head, "It's only been a few hours."

Rick's brow furrowed, "_A few hours_? How could I have only been unconscious for only a few hours with that kind of blow to my body? I should be liquefied, not casted up!"

Luna placed a reassuring hoof on his chest cast, "We tried slowing your fall, but you were still going too fast for us to stop you. I'm sorry; I should have reacted sooner…"

Rick attempted to place a hand on her cheek only to remember the full-body cast he was now stuck in didn't allow it, "Listen, it wasn't anyone's fault. You at least tried, and that's all the matters. But damn… a few hours? That can't be normal. And no one else is visiting?"

"It is quite late right now and I don't think they'd want to visit you. They _were_ forced last time by my sister to see you once you woke up."

Rick became intrigued, "Forced?"

Princess Luna frowned, "My sister ordered them to do their best at accepting and forgiving you in an attempt to get you onto our side. That's why they treated you so well and forgave so easily. My sister wanted to control you."

Rick couldn't believe it at first, but it quickly made sense, "She- she was _playing me?_ THAT BITCH! NO ONE FUCKIN' PLAYS ME AND GETS AWAY WITH IT!"

Luna placed a hoof on Rick's arm, "Please, calm down. She was only trying to pacify you so you wouldn't destroy anymore property."

"It all makes sense! Their reactions, letting me off so easily, the lies, your sister saying I was her guard! It all makes sense! She was trying to use me!"

"I'm sorry... she asked me to do the same..."

Rick's face fell as he considered what she was saying, "W-what? You were in on it?"

"It was before I got to know you more personally!"

"It was fake this whole time? It was all a bunch of lies?"

Luna's pleading eyes stared deeply at Rick, "Please, I had no other choice! You were something we didn't understand at first and we needed to see if you could join us! I never wanted to hurt you, I just wanted to earn the respect of those ponies... But I know now that I was wrong. I never should have went with my sister's plan..."

Luna's head fell in self-loathing as Rick stared at her.

"No. It was for the best."

Luna quickly turned to Rick, "W-what?"

"Luna, if you didn't do that, I wouldn't have went out with you that night. Admittedly, I don't like the idea that your sister and her Elements tried playing with my emotions, but as long as I gained you in the end, they're the fools."

"Oh." Luna attempted to hug Rick's rough body cast and tightened her grip. It was a warm moment for both of them as the night slowly crept on.

Rick smiled, "This is pretty good, isn't it?"

"I believe it isn't."

An invisible figure grabbed Luna in a chokehold and held her upwards with a very familiar silenced pistol against the side of her head. Completely frightened beyond belief, Luna attempted to look at her attacker, only to have her head pushed to be facing towards Rick with the barrel of the gun. Tears began to roll down a helpless Luna's cheek as she understood what it was that was happening and the devastating damage the weapon could do to her or Rick.

"Let her go."

A faint air distortion occurred behind Luna, "I don't think so, Rick. You've caused me quite a bit of trouble and I am required to euthanize you immediately."

"That voice… you're not Tobias. He has an accent and mixes German into his speech."

The head of the figure became opaque, revealing a very familiar face of a very familiar German, "I've been weeding out that part of my speech over the course of the years. It doesn't seem worth to have anymore, frankly. Now, allow us to return to you. You know I'm going to have to do this. Cooperate and I promise this little pony of yours that you've taken such a disgusting liking will not be harmed in any which-way possible through my hands. Don't cooperate, and I perform an exploratory surgery in the same fashion I did to you."

Rick gritted his teeth, "You sick bastard… Fine, kill me, just don't hurt her. Do we have a deal?"

"I can't understand how you would fall in love with another species… It's quite immoral, not to mention completely vulgar. Isn't bestiality a crime in the United States, as well as most of the world?"

"That would imply that the creature you're having a relationship with can't speak the same language or feel the same way a human does, you piece of shit. Don't criticize me, because I know for a fuckin' fact that you can't understand what it feels like to have someone you care about at stake in a situation. You never had them stolen from you and you've never experienced what I experienced."

Tobias spoke with a sympathetic smile, "You really don't know much about the situation, do you? Well, I suppose if you're willing to cooperate, I can finish this here and now. Prepare yourself."

Rick frowned and stared at Luna, "Don't worry, I have this covered."

"Rick…"

Tobias removed a syringe from his coat and injected it into the Luna's neck.

Rick's head leaned towards him, "MOTHERFUCKER! WE HAD A DEAL!"

Tobias pressed the stopper, removed the syringe, disinfected the area, then placed a bandage there, "A sedative, nothing to worry about. Then again, it's a human sedative. Maybe it will work different."

"No good piece of shit. I should have killed you when I had the chance!"

Tobias shook his head, "That wouldn't have helped. It's time to finally end this," Tobias winked at Rick, "and then start it."

Rick's eyes narrowed, "Wait… You're telling me that-"

"Quiet! I hope you're done, because I need to pick up some friends soon." Rick didn't say anything, "Very well, let's continue."

Tobias let Luna free from his hold, letting her body drop on top of the bed and towards Rick. He looked at her and saw her eyes. They were still lucid, and the fear was easily noticeable in those large eyes. This was going to be an extremely traumatizing moment for her to see.

Tobias aimed his signature silenced pistol at Rick and gave a weak smile, "I never thought I would have to experience this, let alone see it. In another life then, Rick?"

Rick managed to nod from inside the body cast and smiled, "In another life, Tobias."

With that, the German fired a single bullet upon the American's skull at point blank range. It went through the left eye socket and bounced around the inside of the skull until all that was left was a bleeding pile of matter that was no longer functional. Rick's head went slack as Luna's eyes clouded with tears. A ringing came from Tobias's pocket as he pulled out a PDA and examined it. After placing it back, Tobias holstered his pistol, turned Luna around, and held her gingerly by the cheek.

"What does he see in you? I can't possibly understand what it was that made him that way. But… if he's happy with you… I suppose I could get used to it as well. That's what good friends do, after all… Still, it perplexes me as to how a relationship would work, let alone develop between an equine and a human. Would you two even date, or marry? What about children? How would you two even have children if you aren't the same species? How would you even have sex? I'm getting off topic; I've never seen anything quite like you ponies, yet, I can't help but feel sorry for you. You don't know what's coming to your world, and you still turn against Rick. If anything, he's one of the few willing to help, along with me of course… But we may not be enough. After all, we're only human and can do only so much against such an unimaginable force such as Hadrian's…" Tobias looked at Luna's confused, tear-stained face, "I'm sorry for boring you. I'll leave immediately. The drug should wear off in a few minutes. Don't worry about Rick, everything will be fine."

Tobias cloaked his entire body up to his neck, "In another life, Princess."

His head faded away as the door opened and closed. Luna was left staring at Rick's corpse in agony and sadness. Within a few moments, it began to crumble into tiny little beads of energy that swarmed en masse and stormed out the balcony towards the Everfree Forest. Luna, mentally and physically exhausted but reassured that no true harm had been done, slowly fell to sleep on the bed with an empty cast. It was the oddest and most invigorating sleep she ever had.

* * *

><p>A faint hissing along with the clambering sounds of locks being disengaged slowly woke a groggy Rick. His head was pounding unbearably and he felt abnormally sore all over his body. He felt something tickle his throat and coughed it up. Some blood splattered onto the floor and hung off his bottom lip, dangling gently. Rick shuddered and wiped his mouth with his forearm. Taking a moment to warm up, Rick attempted to stretch, but was met with a searing and painful cramp all over instead. He slowly limped over to the medical bay as the chamber hissed and closed behind him. Uncharacteristically dragging his feet, Rick was forced to use his arms to hold himself up as he heaved over the table. Taking a few deep breathes; he regained his composure and looked at the medical bay's mirror in front of him. His heart stuttered sporadically as he took in the reflection. His hands slowly reached up to his face and held it.<p>

"Good god… what the hell happened to me…"

* * *

><p>And that's that. This chapter only took me 15 minutes to write, right after I realized how long its been since a real chapter was posted. I can't help but feel like an ass for not posting this sooner though. I originally intended to post this the same day as that joke chapter (some people actually didn't like that [remember, "joke"] and felt negatively towards it) but I didn't finish the ending. To make matters worse, I ended up realizing that my midterms were that week, so I dropped everything and studied my ass off. Enough excuses, it's time to move on from this shit.<p>

This chapter has been the longest so far, and at the time of writing this, it has reached almost 42,000 words. It's most likely more now, but I don't want to risk checking because FFNet is being an asshole to me. Why I ever thought it would be such a good idea to write a chapter this long is beyond me. Seriously, I tend to write chapters that are longer than most fics. Maybe its because I take around a month for each or something. I'm going to need to calm down on this.

To clarify, Rick's Earth is _not_ the same Earth as the ponies'. Alternate universes with connected planets, nothing like the Earth in 30 million years or something. The world that Rick has come back to is losing to the mutagenic infection that's forcing a drastic decline in the human population while steadily increasing the infected population. Shit 'bout to get cray. The idea of a slowly declining world was partially influenced by S.T.A.L.K.E.R., which is a great series, despite that the Zone is only nearly Pripyat and Chernobyl. The main idea was to show a Earth that consisted of humans and severely mutated individuals and the odd way of life shared between them. Things have changed so radically but have stayed that way for so long, it becomes the new normal.

Shout out to Charlie-Cipher. You dead MOTHAFUCKA. But nah, he's cool. Who was he again?

Okay, it's time to shout out my nigga from 'round here. Some of you (some fic writers most likely) might know an artist and reader named Delta-Zer0. His predecessor didn't survive this chapter, unfortunately. But I can still make it up to him by saying how great of guy he is for making a nice ass piece of art for Stasis. That shit is beyond words. You guys better recognize, or else. 'Or else what?' you might say. Exactly. You won't know shit until we end up hitting you when you aren't looking. But to get back on track, he made a very nice piece of art and I think I should share it with you guys because frankly, he deserves a lot of credit for it. Like I said, great guy, great artist, great cannon-fodder in the story.

If it isn't obvious, replaced the "[dot]'s" with real ".'s".

Here is his FFNet page: [dot]net/u/2000815/

Here is his DA page (not really, its the link to the art he made for Stasis): [dot]com/art/Stuck-in-Stasis-261588804

Respect for my homie.

Also, a shout out to MOUNT PILATE 1667. He's a G, too.

I'm probably once again forgetting to post something about a specific part of the story that may need explaining. If you're confused in any way, hit me up via PM or review.

As always, Stay Trilla.

(See? I didn't forget that time.)


	19. Chapter 19

**Stasis**

**Chapter 19: Your Human Shield**

**By: Stillmatic**

* * *

><p>The smell of rotted flesh and dried blood wafted in Rick's nose as he gazed at what he couldn't believe was his own reflection. He tenderly rubbed his eyes as if to dispel the hallucination, but was met with pain instead. His hands looked gnarled and scabby as did most of his body and time seemed to stop as he blankly looked back at himself. It didn't seem right to be this way… but something told him that it was his own fault. He had put himself in this situation, and now he was looking at the fruits of his actions.<p>

Looking at himself more clearly now, he focused on his lower half for a moment. He checked his penis to make sure it was still intact, and he let out a sigh of relief to realize that no harm had come to it. The rest of his body was a different story however, as he saw a small piece of skin on his arm slowly slink off and slop to the floor with a soft splat. He shuddered and placed the skin inside of a medical waste basket. Whole areas of skin were missing, along with some muscle, all around his body. He could clearly see his muscles in some areas, while he even saw parts of hard white in between broken strands. The surrounding parts of those areas held skin that seemed to have long since died, but remained on the body as a reminder. Brown, black, red and dirty, the areas reeked horribly of necrotization that he didn't even realize had occurred.

He felt that tickling in his throat again as he covered his mouth with a nearby tissue. He could feel the warm blood splatter through the soft tissue and onto his hand. He grimaced at the sight of it and threw it away as he noticed more blood seeping out of his mouth. Quickly opening it, Rick used his fingers to excavate in front of the mirror for what was causing the blood to leak out. Wincing from the pain, he felt the sensitivity of his gums as well as the lining of his mouth screaming at him to stop. He did, however, not stop and continued to find the source. As he bumped a finger against a tooth by mistake, a searing pain let loose from his gums. The tooth bent back as if Rick had forced it against the will of the gums. Trying once more, he attempted to move it back into place as it inevitably teetered off of his gum lining and fell under his tongue.

Rick was not only scared of losing a tooth, but flabbergasted as to how his lining became so weak. Blood began pouring out of the area the tooth had come from and he quickly grabbed some cotton to press into it. The pain was horrible, but he held it in place only to find more blood leaking out from under all of his other teeth. He quickly grabbed a fistful of cotton and shoved it quickly in his mouth as he contemplated what to do next. His eyes slowly stared back at his face and silently inspected himself. Realizing it now, a certain something became more prominent with his vision. A glossy whiteness covered his left field of vision while the right was as clear as can be. He looked back at his eyes to see that his left one had in fact necrotized partially, leaving a rotted optical orb that allowed for impaired vision. Luckily, the center was fine for the most part, but the sides and pieces of the eye were dirtied and disgusting. He nearly threw up right there, but forced himself to remain calm. He noticed there were bits of skin lying in his beard, and then looked upwards towards his hair. Surprisingly, it was fine and hadn't been disturbed in any way.

'Great. I end up as a fucking zombie and all that survives is my hair. Woopty-fucking-doo.'

Rick's attention turned back to his eye. It wasn't safe for his health to keep a necrotized eye in his skull like that. Taking a deep breath, he grabbed for a scalpel, some sterilized gauze, a lighter he thought he would never use, and some antibacterial flush from a nearby cabinet. Rick grabbed for some painkillers and quickly downed them without hesitation. Waiting for the effects to kick in, he placed a finger under his eyelid and slowly eased his eye out of the socket. The feeling of his own finger digging around through his eye socket was giving him the most unnerving goose bumps as he popped it out. The way his vision was perceived now that one eye was nowhere near the other nearly made him retch, but he once again pressed on.

Once he started to feel the slow creeping of the painkillers, he began heating the scalpel with the lighter. Now hot, he held it to as close to the base of the optic nerve as possible. He gritted his teeth and made the quick severance of the eye from his head. It plopped down on the table as his breathing became heavy. He seared what was left of the optic nerve closed to prevent blood flow and gently pushed it back into his eye socket. Taking the antibacterial flush, he lied back against the table and poured just enough into his socket to clean it out and prevent infection. Shaking his head around, he got off of the floor and dumped the now dirty liquid in a nearby sink. He breathed a sigh of relief and packed the gauze into the now empty hole in his skull. It was unnerving at first, but he soon became used to the gauze as he went through a drawer and pulled out an eye patch.

Never considering to have ever worn one of these before, he placed it over where his left eye once was and straightened it. Grabbing into another drawer, he removed a large canister of medical foam that he knew would come in handy someday. Instead of using a syringe, he directly forced it out onto his hand. He began slathering the foam onto the affected areas of his body as the tingling sensation of his skin coming back to life brought a new hope that temporary relief was nearing him.

'_Look at you; you're like a real person again.'_

Rick looked around for the voice, "Who the hell's there? Show yourself."

'_Sure, just turn to your right a little.'_

Rick slowly turned his head to the right, his eyes coming in contact with the mirror version's. They stared at each other for a good minute before Rick shook his head and sighed.

"This shit is just getting weird…"

'_I'll say. You know, I've been wondering something.'_

"What the hell is-"

'_Wrong with you? Nothing, in my opinion. Now let's get back on track here. You aren't exactly in peak physical or psychological condition here, buddy. I think we both know what that means.'_

"Just who the hell are you? And how the hell are you talking to me?"

'_Come on, we've already talked earlier.'_

Rick's eye narrowed slightly, "You were the voice telling me to get some from L-"

'_Now you're getting it! I took over for you back when you should have been knocked unconscious by that blow that rainbow bitch gave you when she tackled your ass into that building.'_

"Took over? I remember everything from that."

'_Of course you do, I don't override your memories or anything. Just consider me… you're other conscious.'_

Rick shook his head, "This is becoming serious bullshit. I'm just going to take an anabiotic."

Rick's hand went for a case of black capsules before the voice spoke up.

'_I wouldn't recommend that. Who knows what the sudden deprivation of psionic energy will do to you.'_

Rick's hand stopped as he pulled it away, "Why the hell is this happening to me? Is this some kind of cruel joke?"

'_I'm very much real, Rick. Hmm… Rick… I don't think we can be called the same name. Just doesn't sound right, right? How's about… Eric? Yeah… Just call me Eric. Trust me; you won't notice me much unless you get into some serious shit. Avoid hurting your psychological standing further and you won't need me to regulate you and keep you safe. Sounds like a deal?'_

Rick sighed, "Fine… Whatever you want, voice-I'm-not-sure-is-even-real. You're probably just a figment of my imagination."

'_Nah, not that. Well, in a sense, I suppose that's true. It's only natural for a person to develop an alter ego when they've been under as much stress as you. It helps you deal with anything that hurts your mind like guilt or mental disease. Can you understand where I fit into this?'_

Rick scratched his beard, "Huh. So I'm hearing voices now. That's not exactly a good sign. And my inner voice is telling me that I'm losing my mind. That's not a good sign either, but it's damn true… So just shut up, don't talk unless I speak to you, and try not to whine."

'_Wow, you must be losing your mind. You're actually talking to me like I'm a real person now. Well anyway, I'll just advise you on certain things that may hurt your psyche. And try not to hurt your body either; both of us know that'll just make losing your mind easier.'_

Rick gritted his teeth, "I'm so shot right now… Talking to some voice that doesn't exist…"

Rick looked at himself in the mirror and saw his jaded eye. He looked like he hadn't slept in days, with the bags under his eye pooling and flowing over the rest of his skin. Rick leaned in closer to the mirror and examined his right eye again. The lines were back, and this time they looked closer to making a full circle.

'Looks almost like a clock with too many ticks…'

Rick was perplexed at what could have caused this. He never heard of eyes developing some kind of marks that weren't originally there at birth. Then again, he wasn't a doctor, so he didn't exactly know much about the subject. Still, there was an eeriness about seeing the ticks. There were nineteen circling the inside of his right now, almost making a full circle that might fit just a few more. He shuddered when he considered what it could mean, but tried his best to focus on something else for the time being.

Now normal once more, for now, he pulled out a nearby razor, some shaving cream, and a few rags while trimming his beard with a pair of nearby scissors. After some time of doing that, he lathered up his face in shaving cream and slowly began shaving off the beard that gave no compliment to his youth.

Now cleanly shaven and with no nicks or cuts, Rick began getting clothed using his clothes from earlier near the Reconstruction Chamber. A thought crossed him as he inspected them.

'Why aren't these dirty or bloody? I got the mutants' blood on me and then there's the dirt of the ground after I was tossed off of the balcony… How did these get clean?'

Shrugging, Rick put the cloths on regardless and proceeded out of the door of the shuttle. He took a deep breath of fresh Everfree air and exhaled. It was good to be back in the Castle.

'Nothing's changed much…'

He thought back to his eye for a moment and cringed, 'Oh man… Maybe I should use some foam on it instead so I can actually have two eyes… But the weird thing is… My eye was more messed up than anything else… But that would mea- TOBIAS THAT MOTHERFUCKER! HE STILL HAS MY FUCKING EYE! WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON HIM I'M GOING TO FUCKING GOUGE HIS OUT AND-'

"Rick?"

He snapped out of his thoughts and turned to the familiar voice nearby.

"Trixie? Is that you?"

A head poked out from a nearby hall way connected to the atrium, "You're finally back! Where have you been? I was so worried when I saw you all broken up in your sleep thingy!"

He got closer as they both sat by the fire pit, "Broken up? What are you talking about?"

She shuddered, "It was disgusting, Rick. I was walking into the shuttle to grab one of those meals when I saw you were back in your chamber. I was wondering when you came back and why you didn't say anything up until I noticed that parts of your body were disconnected and broken off… it was really scary… Anyway, I thought I would wait for you and clean your clothes before you came out."

Rick smiled, "Thanks Trixie, I appreciate it. Let me guess, you used your magic to get out the blood and the dirt?"

She nodded, "Nothing better than the power of Trixie-Clean." She took notice of his eye patch, "What happened to your eye? And your hair?"

"I'm growing it out a little, but I shaved my beard. And about the eye, it's something you don't want to hear. Trust me on that."

"Can I guess?"

Rick eyed her suspiciously, "Why would you want to kn-"

"If I _had_ to guess, I'd say your eye was partially degraded and necrotized to the point where further and prolonged allowance of it to reside in your optical cavity would be detrimental to your health and cause some kinds of health problems for you. It was the smart choice to remove it and sear the nerve as to prevent loss of blood. I hope you actually cleaned the inside though, because that might become a problem if you didn't."

Rick stood there for a few moments, unsure of what to say or how to respond to something he never expected to hear from Trixie of all people. She noticed his expression and smirked at him until he shook his while laughing.

"What the fuck was that, Trixie? Since when did you become an expert on these kinds of things?"

Trixie's smirk remained, "I didn't."

Rick's brow furrowed slightly, "Then how did you know what happened and what to do?"

"The sleeping tube-thing told me what happened to your eye and how to fix the problem. It said a bunch of other stuff, but I couldn't understand most of it."

Rick chuckled, "Tricky Trixie. Well, anything happen while I was gone?"

"You mean since you were last here or since last month?"

"Just give me a run through of what happened when I wasn't around."

Trixie put a hoof to her chin while focusing one her thoughts, "Well… Moon has come by when she could to help me with improving my magic. Other than that, not much has happened."

Rick gave a half-smile, "Of course… Anyway, what to do now…"

A wide smile crossed Trixie's face, "Want to see some of the things Moon taught me?"

A series of extremely sexual memories went through Rick's mind as he shuddered. Trixie took notice and sighed.

"Fine, I understand."

Rick shook his head and smiled, "Sorry, just remembered something… It was magic she was teaching you right? Nothing else?"

One of Trixie's brows rose as if she was missing something, "Yeah… why, what else would she teach me?"

Rick cleared his throat, "Nothing, just show me what you can do now."

Trixie stood up, "Very well. You shall now experience the might of…" Trixie took a stance and stood on her hind legs, "THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE!"

A gust of winds flew past her and towards Rick, putting out the fire and sending the skin on his face back as he stared at her. Once it died down, Rick got up and walked to Trixie.

"Well, at least I know who to go to if I ever need my hair blow-dried."

They exchanged looks before bursting into laughter.

Trixie used her right hoof to lightly jab Rick's leg, "Oh come on, that was impressive! You know you can't deny the awesome power that is Trixie!"

Rick gave a genuine smile, "You bet I can't. Listen Trixie, you gotta keep practicing your magic. I want you to become a shitload more powerful than Highlight Markel or whatever the hell her name is."

Trixie's mood turned sour, "_Her_? Please, don't bring _her_ up."

Rick sighed and crouched down to Trixie's level, "Listen, I know you hate her for what she did, but you can't obsess about it at every chance you get. Do you want to know how to get over that kind of stuff?"

Trixie, unsure of what Rick was talking about, nodded her head.

"Okay, good. Now listen, Trixie. The best revenge is to outshine anyone and everyone, including the ones you think are better than you. I'm not saying that nerd is better than you, I'm saying that you've branched off in magic differently, right? Explain the difference between hers and yours."

Trixie considered it for a moment before coming to the inevitable, depressing conclusion, "I-I can't compete… Her Cutie Mark is magic. Just plain magic with no borders… But me… Hah… Show magic…" She stared at the floor, "How can that even compare to something with so much possibility? I-I'll never be able to be better than her…"

Rick stomped his shoe on the floor loudly, forcing Trixie to jump up and look at him with some kind of self-pity and fear. The corner of Rick's mouth was twitching slightly as he stared down at the ever-shrinking Trixie. He kneeled down and stared dead into her eyes.

Now that she had a better look at his eye, she could see the odd likeness to it. It was, for lack of a better word, tired. Impassive to counter-productive emotion and faintly sparked with an ever-present determination, the single eye stared deep into her soul, causing her to shiver. She wasn't afraid, and she wasn't confused of it. Trixie suddenly felt guilt at being so weak towards herself, and she didn't know why at first. Soon, still staring at his eye, the answer dawned on her. It quickly manifested itself as more guilt as she realized that her complaining was falling on ears that had heard more than its fair share of negativity. A mouth that forced out perseverance and locked in weakness, and a face that was far more worn that its actual age let on. She was staring at something that had all the more right to complain, yet she took the liberty to do so anyway. Sure, her life hadn't been falling in place like she'd originally hoped, but she couldn't complain about how somepony took her in and allowed for her to live for free. She had been careless in her words, and it obviously didn't hold well with Rick. Trixie closed her eyes tightly and awaited the inevitable screaming and profanity she hoped Rick wouldn't produce.

She was surprised when she felt Rick's hand on her shoulder, prompting her to open one eye, then the other.

Rick spoke in a calm, yet flustered tone, "Trixie, listen closely. Fuck that bitch and all she has. You're you, not her. Don't even _fucking THINK_ of saying you're not better or on par with her." She cringed at the increasingly angry tone, "I _despise_ it when people don't give themselves the credit they deserve and don't recognize their talents. You have got to stop downplaying yourself just because you're angry at that bitch. You call yourself the 'Great and Powerful', but you can't even believe in yourself anymore! _Why?_ You're fucking amazing and yet you somehow think you aren't capable everything she can do and more! I know for a goddamn _fact_ that you can supersede every little thing in your way and you still don't have the drive to push yourself farther! You absolutely need a clear mind to wade through the shit that life will put you through, so get your act together and make sure you come out on top. Never wallow in self-pity, never hate yourself, and never regret anything. Don't do that and you'll end up a like a certain someone in this room that learned too late." He stared at Trixie for a moment before sighing and placing his hand on her other shoulder with a sympathetic smile, "I'm sorry if I come out strong and mad about this, but you have to realize something Trixie. I want the best for you, and you deserve the best. You have unlimited potential and you need to unlock it. So promise me something. Promise me that you'll never pity yourself again and that you'll always pick yourself back up only to be stronger. Promise me now."

Trixie felt like her heart and brain were being shocked as some light tears fell down the side of her face. No pony had ever said anything like that… no pony except her parents… Trixie gave a toothy grin while coming to the realization that Rick was right. There was no point in crying over something like not being good enough. Because the fact was, anypony could become better with work and the persistence to make oneself stronger not just physically, but mentally too. Confidence and dedication were the cores of pushing past the doubts and fears Trixie always had since she was foal, ever since she started developing her magic. There was no need to compare herself to others anymore, because now she understood what it was that Rick did with himself in these situations. By putting herself on another, separate level, Trixie could now see herself in the same way Rick had saw, if not a little different. She picked up her head and considered what this feeling was and why it felt so liberating. She knew she wasn't the most talented or powerful, but that didn't mean she couldn't try to get to that level either. Trixie stared back at Rick and saw the small smile on his face grow larger.

"So tell me, because I know you feel it, what's that feeling you have right now?"

Trixie prodded through her mind in search of the word, "I-I don't know what the right word is. I know the feeling, but I just can't pinpoint it in my mind."

Rick stood up and stared off out the window, inciting Trixie to also. The sun was just beginning to dawn over the tree line of the Everfree and the rays penetrated through the broken panes and walls of the Castle. Taking in the scene, they stood there for a good few minutes before Rick spoke up.

"That, Trixie, is freedom. Liberation from what holds us back and salvation from our doubts. So don't falter, and don't look back, Trixie. Always keep pushing yourself forward, and become the best. I know you can do it, you just need the right mentality."

Trixie noticed she'd stopped crying quite some time ago as the mental weight was lifted off of her. She looked back up at Rick, who was still staring off into the distance with a slight smile, and felt different feeling, quite possibly respect. Not like the one she originally felt for his attitude, ability, or actions, but something more as a symbol. Not wanting to go into it further for now, she decided she'd think it over later and find out what exactly that respect meant.

"Thank you, Rick. I needed that."

Rick chuckled and looked back down at her, "It was nothing. Now, how about you help me with something out in the Courtyard?"

Trixie smiled back, "Sure, what do you need help with?"

"Setting something up. Come on, let's go."

With that, they exited the Atrium and headed down a flight of stairs towards the Grand Courtyard. Now outside, the cool, crisp air hit them lightly as they walked through a fairly clean, yet speckled with rubble, courtyard. Rick began piling the rubble towards the middle, with Trixie's magic to help, and they eventually moved every single stone. Now with a big pile in the middle, Rick looked for what he eagerly wanted to set up.

After a moment of searching around the walls of the Courtyard, Rick motioned for Trixie to come over, "Trixie! I'm going to need help with this!"

Trixie trotted over as Rick attempted to push a large pole towards the middle. Not making any significant progress, Trixie intervened and used her magic to lift the pole towards the middle.

She smirked, "I assume you want to put this in the middle of the pile?"

Rick chuckled, "Yeah, I think you know where this is going. Good thing this is in such nice condition too. Hell, it even has the string still there."

As Trixie placed the pole in the middle of the rubble and Rick pushed the stones to keep it in place, she wiped her brow, "Don't you find that odd though? That it's in such good condition that even the string is still present?"

"You want to know how that works?"

"How?"

Rick grinned, "Magic," after which Rick snorted twice.

Trixie wasn't sure of what Rick meant by that, but stepped back to examine her work nonetheless. Rick went back into the Castle and pulled out a folded cloth that she didn't recognize.

"A flag?"

Rick gently unfolded the striped and starred flag, giving Trixie a good look of it. White and red stripes with a blue corner and more stars than she could count in the brief moment she was able to examine it. Rick went to the pole and attached the flag to the string. Raising it up, it reached the top and flowed freely with the wind. Rick tied the string to the bottom and got off of the rubble. Trixie watched him as he stood back and saluted the flag that she hadn't seen before.

"What country's flag is that? I don't recall ever seeing one like this before."

"Only the greatest nation on Earth's. America."

"Amareica? I don't recall their flag looking like that."

Rick grimaced and stared at Trixie, "_Amareica_? Is that some kind of joke?"

Trixie shook her head, "No, that's a country north of here, past Stalliongrad."

"_Stalliongrad_? That's got to be a joke too." Rick shuddered, "I just hope they don't have Russians there… or worse, _Communists_," Rick spat with more disgust than necessary.

"I'm not sure what exactly we're talking about, but how about we go back inside? We should get some breakfast."

Rick gave a hearty laugh, "Sure, try to distract me from these crazy, half-assed references to my planet with some food." Rick's stomach grumbled, "Communist mind tricks, I swear... Let's go."

They left the Courtyard and headed back inside towards the Atrium. As they passed the fire pit, which Trixie relit, Rick felt that tickle in his throat again. Covering his mouth, he began coughing loudly enough for Trixie to spare him a worried glance. The wetness of the coughs unnerved her while Rick leaned forward slightly as the coughing got worse. After a few more coughs, it eventually subsided with Rick wiping his mouth of something. Trixie stared at his arm to see a blood trail running up it and his hand to find some bloody mucus. He quickly shook his head and made an odd grunt as he continued walking.

Trixie kept pace with him, "Rick, shouldn't you check that out?"

Rick didn't even glance at her, "No."

"But the coughing and the blood… That can't be normal."

"It's fine. Nothing to worry about."

Rick was obviously keeping a secret and by not telling Trixie, she became only more curious.

"Maybe we can see a doctor?"

Rick stopped and glared at her, "No doctors. Ever. They're untrustworthy scumbags who backstab you and work for the enemy."

Trixie didn't know what to make of Rick's reply, so she decided she'd simply wait until Moon was back in order to convince him to get help. She would probably have _some_ _kind_ of connections, even if she was imprisoned for a thousand years. And with those connections came power, and the power to find some medical help for Rick. Of course, convincing him to actually _see_ a doctor wouldn't be an easy task in the least.

Trying to break the tense air, Trixie trotted alongside Rick and smiled, "So how have things been? I heard you caused another calamity in town the other day."

Rick's mood lightened, "Yeah. I save one of them and they all come after me. Such is life in the Zo- Equestria? Yeah, that's it. So how's things?"

"Boring. The only fun I get is when Moon is here."

Rick considered how Nightmare Moon was able to get in the Castle and past through the stasis shield, but quickly remembered how he set it to allow her through, "Yeah... I could use some fun."

"Fun? What kind of fun?"

"Ehh... Nevermind."

"Well, what are we having? The mixed meal?"

"Sounds fine…" Rick's head began to throb as he wobbled and took a few uneven steps forward, "I'll be right… back. Just gotta get some… food."

Trixie steadied him, "Are you sure you should be moving around? You really look like you could use some rest."

"I'll take a nap right after we eat. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Be careful, Rick. Don't overexert yourself."

Rick smirked at her, "Gee willikers Mom, thanks for looking out for me!"

"Uh…"

"Don't ask."

Rick began slowly walking towards the shuttle until he was inside, where he closed the door. The painful throbbing only increased since he originally felt it. Taking a moment to rest, he leaned over the side of the medical bay table and stared at the floor a few feet in front of him. After what felt like quite a while, Rick stopped his statuesque stance and stood up. As he passed by the medical bay, his peripheral vision caught the mirror version's. He continued walking until he couldn't spot it anymore, but slowly backed up to look at himself. Rick rubbed his eye for a moment as he could have sworn the reflection smirked at him.

"What…"

Rick realized his mouth was twitching as he stared at himself. After another moment, he pressed his hand against the mirror, connecting him and the reflection. The reflection flashed a quick smile, forcing Rick to stumble back. Wide eyed and breathing irregularly, Rick shook his head and blinked a few times. The sweat began forming on his forehead as he kept blinking as if to get rid of the mental image of the doppelganger. Taking a deep breath, he pressed his hands into his face and exhaled. Rick looked back at his reflection to see not a man against a wall having a nervous breakdown, but a grinning copycat looking at him with a face full of twisted joy. Rick looked both ways as he considered what exactly was happening to him right now.

'It's just you… Need to calm down… Focus, focus, focus on staying in control! Keep a grip on reality!'

The reflection looked both ways and then connected eyes with Rick. Making a "come closer" motion with his hand, the mirror version gave a sympathetic smile. Rick blinked once then tried to swallow. His throat dry, he moved forward towards the mirror and leaned over the table. They stared off for quite some time before it spoke up.

"You're a fucking pathetic failure. You're worth nothi-"

It was cut off when Rick's fist collided with the mirror, shattering it and sending the shards down into the sink below. Rick felt some pieces dug into his skin as he slowly pulled his fist back and let it rest by his side.

"Wow. Quite a temper."

Rick flipped to his right as he glared at his reflection in flesh, now leaning against a large data logger near the wall of the shuttle. Looking similar to him, the only noticeable difference was that it had the very short hair Rick had when he first arrived on the Moon. Its nonchalant stance coupled with a toothy grin was driving Rick over the edge.

'Calm down… calm down… It's just a hallucination, nothing else…'

"If I was a hallucination, would I be able to do this?"

Picking up the same sharp scalpel that Rick hadn't bothered putting away earlier, the mirror image took calm, deliberate steps towards Rick. Before Rick was able to react properly, the reflection was instantaneously in front of Rick. With inhuman speed, it took the scalpel in both hands and tried to bring it down onto Rick's face. With no time to perceive the attack, Rick managed to grab onto the wrists of the reflection as the pressure forced him lower. He blinked once more and realized that nothing was there. He looked around to see _he_ was holding the scalpel to himself. Keeping it in his hand, he ran his other through his hair tiredly. Leaning over the table once more, he tried rationalizing what just happened.

Rick felt his neck hair prick up at something near him as he threw the scalpel at whatever was at his left. His vision caught the hallucination dissipate into a murky gas as the scalpel pierced through its torso. His eyelid drooped slightly as he let out a sigh of relief.

"Honestly, do you think you could kill me that easily? I represent more than only one of your demons, Rick."

Rick felt the grim tenseness build up as he stared to his right. It stood there once again, now in a more prepared stance. Rick gritted his teeth and picked up a nearby pipe that leaned against a cabinet. Taking the necessary steps forward, he moved into a powerful swing towards the image. He blinked, only to find it chuckling at him from behind. He swung harder, this time with a yell to accompany it. Once again, after a blink, there was nothing there.

"Rick?"

Rick's eye quickly shot towards the shuttle door. Rick turned to his left and tackled the hallucination through the doorway and out into the castle atrium. On top of it, holding it by the neck with his left hand and raising the pipe over it with his right, Rick stared at its scared expression. He blinked again, this time seeing what was actually happening.

"Rick? Please… what are you doing…"

Rick's body slackened as he removed himself off of Trixie.

'_Look what Richard made you do… That isn't right, not at all…_'

He looked at the pipe hanging by his side and let it drop on the floor. Rick noticed Trixie's slight jump from the sound as he hung his head in shame.

"I'm sorry Trixie… I didn't mean to do that."

Rick turned away from Trixie's scared gaze as he bit on his bottom lip.

'What the hell did I just do! I fucking _attacked_ Trixie! What the fuck is wrong with me?'

He felt a tapping against his knee, "Rick?"

He looked down to see a Trixie no longer scared, but deeply concerned for him.

Rick gave an apologetic frown, "Listen, I'm sorry for doin-"

"Stop. You don't need to apologize. You need help, Rick. Even I can see what's happening to you, and it definitely isn't good. Do you know what I saw when I looked at your eye?" Rick shook his head, "They were lit up, like a lamp. Then you blinked and I saw the look in your it. It wasn't right, Rick. There's definitely something wrong here."

Rick kneeled down to Trixie's level, "I won't be able to permanently fix the problem until I can manage to get some better medical equipment. What I have won't restore me; just hold me together for a certain amount of time until I lose it again. There's nothing to do except wait. Wait until Aden can get me some help. If that ever happens, that is…"

Trixie smiled at him, "Don't worry, you can work through this. I know you can."

Rick smiled back, "Thanks, Trixie." Rick noticed something was missing, "Ah shit. I forgot to get the food." Rick turned and motioned for Trixie to follow, "Come on, we need to clean up those cuts."

Trixie glanced at her forelegs to see that they were lightly scratched, "It's nothing, just some scrapes."

Rick chuckled, "Still, it must sting, right?"

Trixie didn't deny that, "A little."

With that, she followed him back into the shuttle where he grabbed two MRE's and placed them in the microwave. Taking his attention away from that, he sat Trixie on the medical bay table and grabbed some medical gel. Squeezing just a tiny bit out, he rubbed it into the scuffs on Trixie's legs. She winced for a moment as it set in and replaced the necessary skin. Hopping down, she glanced at her forelegs to see they were in perfect condition once again. A ding went off nearby as Rick opened the microwave, grabbed two forks, and led the way out of the shuttle.

"So I take it you haven't gotten sick of these yet?"

Trixie smiled, "They're pretty good. I don't know why you complain about them."

"I don't, it's just that it loses its taste after a while."

Trixie shrugged, "Tastes just as fine as when I had it the first time."

They both sat by the fire pit on the pelt Rick assumed he made with his prey way earlier. Giving Trixie a fork and her food, he closely examined how she ate the food. Using her magic, he lifted the fork and stabbed some vegetables with it. Right as she was about to put it into her mouth, she noticed Rick staring at her.

"Something wrong?"

Rick itched his nonexistent beard, "How do ponies without magic eat?"

Trixie placed the fork down and used her hoof to hold onto the fork, forcing Rick to blink in surprise.

"What the hell. How is that possible? You aren't even grabbing it."

"It's actually really sim-"

"Like, your hoof isn't around it or anything, it's just stuck there. Is it some kind of forced magnetism because of magic or something in your hooves?"

Trixie nodded, "Something like that. Everypony has magic; unicorns just have a way to use it more effectively through horns. We can still use our hooves to do some basic things like hold objects or other general things."

"So it's like you can channel magic through your limbs to do basic stuff?"

"Right, kind of like what you can do."

Rick shook his head, "No, not like that. The amount of concentration to even get that shit working for me is enough to wear me out. The only reason it comes out of my palms is because that's the easiest spot to get the energy out of. But I'm going to avoid doing that as much as possible."

Trixie looked somewhat surprised, "Why? It's a gift."

"More like a curse. I could use it easy at first, but now… now I can't do shit unless I'm either really angry or really desperate. Either way, it isn't worth the feeling you get when it comes out of you."

"What's it feel like?"

"Like your life is being sucked out of you. Like you want to throw up and stop because of the nausea."

"Was it always like that?"

Rick poked a vegetable with his fork, "No. Like I said, it was easy at first. Now, I can do more stuff, but I start feeling worse and worse every time I do it. Gets me feeling kind of tired. Kind of old."

Trixie placed a reassuring hoof on Rick's shoulder, "You really need to stop stressing yourself with all this physical work. Go ahead, finish your food and take a nap for a little bit. Maybe you'll start feeling better after that."

"You're probably right. I'm just going to get this done quick."

Rick shanked as many pieces of vegetables that his fork would allow and ate them. Repeating the process over and over, he finished in roughly a minute as he grabbed the empty MRE case and the fork. Getting up, he dropped them off at the shuttle and went to the stasis chamber. Opening it, he made the decision to sleep for a little bit of time. As the stasis slowly took him, he recollected the source of his mental plight, only to shrug it off once more.

* * *

><p>There was an odd sense of nostalgia and familiarity in the lack of air. Standing in an endless void he had hoped he hallucinated over a month ago, Rick looked around. Rightly so, it was a completely desolate setting that provided no change in scenery as far as the eye could see. Rick took a step forward, despite there not being a floor, and examined his surroundings in more depth. In the far off distance was that same hole he had encountered earlier.<p>

"Something… is wrong? I thought this was just a dream last time."

"_Far from it. Look around you. Does this seem like a dream?_"

Rick slowly did a full-circle turn and settled back in his original position.

"Nothing."

"Nothing? We're NOTHING?"

Rick winced at the tone, "I don't see anything, so there's nothing."

"_You think this a dream, but really, how can it be?_"

"You can't get hurt in dreams, right? So you wouldn't mind if I did this…"

Rick spun around, ready to face the reflection. He blinked when he noticed there wasn't anything there. Unfortunately for him, it tackled his turned back and brought him to the floor. Rick flipped around and kicked upwards, hitting the reflection in the face with his shoes. Rick recoiled when he felt himself feel the pain along with the doppelganger. It turned around for a moment to regain its composure while Rick got back onto his feet and into a fighting stance. It slowly turned its head to reveal a more gnarled and gritty face that looked as if it were lightly masked in cracks and fractures. Rick felt his heart sink for a moment as he took in his reflection.

"You can't just beat me that easy, you know! I'm more than one, and you aren't man enough to take all of me down! Admit it! You're a fucking failure! You never stood a chance!"

"_I think there's a chance. I'd normally stay out of this, but I prefer self-preservation over anything. Get yourself together, right now. Don't you think that's a good idea?_"

Rick turned his head to his left to see another copy leaning against the air with his arms crossed. It looked the same as Rick, but held a more professional look with its slicked back hair and overall demeanor.

"This… isn't happening. This is all one big fucking dream."

"What was that? I couldn't hear you…"

Richard came closer and stared at Rick, waiting for him to repeat it.

Rick shoved him, "Back off, asshole."

"I'm an asshole? You're the asshole!"

"Fuck you!"

Richard got in Rick's face and pointed a finger at him, "YOU WATCH YOUR FUCKING MOUTH, BITCH!"

Rick shoved him again, "You're just asking to get fucked up, aren't you?"

Eric intervened by placing himself in between them, "Listen, both of you need to shut your dumb asses up. Seriously." They didn't respond back, "Besides, we have guests."

Both Rick and Richard look back at what Eric was pointing to. Less than thirty feet away was two other, older looking copies.

Rick ran his hand through his hair, "What the fuck is happening… I must have taken something by accident…"

They got ten feet closer and stopped, letting Rick, Eric, and Richard see their faces fully. Each of them gritted their teeth and narrowed their eyes at the same time.

"Hadri_an!_" They all shouted in unison.

Of the two copies roughly twenty feet away, one wore a plain white mask. The other looked fairly aged and worn out from not only overexertion, but time. Both dressed in expensive suits, the masked in a pinstripe and the older in a classy one, they spoke to each other in whispers before doing anything. Rick, Eric, and Richard both looked past to see that this place was indeed far more familiar than they had originally thought. That same well-sized hole lying against the air was there, along with all of the incredibly surreal happenings and "physical" information, and it seemed as though this was same place Rick had visited during the time in stasis when he crashed on the Moon.

Each felt a creeping anxiety and darkening mood as the two suits across from them finished talking amongst themselves. The three huddled up for a moment.

Rick clicked his tongue, "What the hell are they doing? Who are they?"

"Mask equals Hadrian," Richard sneered.

Eric bit his bottom lip, "_Most likely, but who's the other? Looks like us except older._"

"Are they us? Or me?"

"What exactly makes 'us', us? Maybe they are us, or you, and things are taking a turn for the worse?"

"_Maybe… we need to get rid of them? I've never seen them before._"

"Are they dangerous?"

"They're us, so looks like it."

"_Wait. Just because they're dangerous doesn't mean they're hostile. Should we talk with them first?_"

"Is that smart? Can't I just wake up?"

"Something is keeping us here… in the stasis. How do we wake up?"

"_What happened last time?_"

"Went through the tunnel."

"Not doing that again. Throw them through the hole?"

"_How the hell would we get both of them through that thing? Why would we even do that?_"

"He's right, they haven't done anything yet."

Richard stared at him incredulously, "Didn't do anything? DIDN'T DO ANYTHING? HADRIAN FUCKING MADE ALL OF THIS HAPPEN!"

"_But! If he hadn't set us up to possibly die, we wouldn't have met Luna and Moon._"

"He's right."

Richard pulled his arms away from his counterparts and crossed them, "Let's just kill him now. I think we can take them easy."

"_And by easy, you mean..?_"

"I think he means we fuck them up before either can fight back."

"Now you're getting it. Who wants who?"

"Hadrian is mine. You two take the old man… Or is that old guy even a threat? Maybe we should all jump Hadrian?"

"_Yeah, let's do that. Any objections?_"

"None from me. Let's get the bastard."

"Okay boys, let's get this done."

All three separated and for a moment, did nothing. Then, they all simply ran forward and bum rushed Hadrian into the older man. Right as they were going to begin stomping on him, a large force was emitted and knocked them a few feet back. Getting up, all three watched as Hadrian lit up in giant blaze, his mask still visible and glaring at them while the older version of Rick stood up and brushed himself off.

Rick looked at his accomplices, "If he wants to use his head, we will too. Give yourselves some room."

Standing in a triangular formation, each began to feel the rush of energy being forced out of themselves. Eric began to let a spiky icicle form in his hand, Richard let an electric current run freely through his right arm, and Rick built up a fireball in each hand. Right as they were nearly ready, Rick began hearing screaming from nearby. He quickly looked the left to see Eric on the floor, writhing in pain. Examining it from his position, he could see that the icicle was coming out from _inside_ of the largest vein on his arm. A large icicle forced itself out of the stretching skin and into his hand, where it only grew around it and began to consume it hastily. Richard's arms fell to his side as the electric current grew wilder, literally peeling off the skin in layers and letting them drop to the floor in a pinkish mess. He soon dropped to the floor as the current worked its way around and began to slowly liquefy his body.

Rick looked back at himself and saw the small balls of combusted gas. Taking a moment of precaution, he tried to put them out, not taking notice to Hadrian getting closer. Right as Rick was beginning to feel as though he would put it out, it exploded on his arm and crawled all around his body in one large inferno. The fire swallowed him up, leaving him to burn inside of a fiery grave of his own making while Hadrian had stepped up in front of him. Slowly, Rick watched in excruciating pain as Hadrian lifted off the mask. Rick's burnt mouth twitched at the sight of himself once again.

* * *

><p>Rick blinked once. His eyes widened as he forced himself out of the stasis chamber and out into the shuttle. Nearly breaking open the door, he dropped to the floor breathing heavily. Scrambling upwards, he leaned over to the mirror and examined himself to find that he was still just as normal looking as when he got it. Breathing a sigh of relief, he looked back at the chamber, shuddered, and walked out of the shuttle all together. Stepping into the Atrium, he slowly made his way to Trixie, who was using her magic to capture fire before it went out.<p>

She turned back, surprised, "I thought you went to sleep?"

Rick rubbed his head, "Shit… I did."

Trixie got up, "It hasn't even been ten minutes yet. Is something wrong?"

"No. Just need some sleep…"

"Just use the pelt by the pit. It's actually pretty comfortable if not disgusting."

Rick chuckled, "I'm starting to rub off on you Trixie."

Trixie smirked back at him, "I hope not, I don't really want to kill things to live."

Rick shrugged, "You get used to it."

With that, Rick lied down on the deer pelt he made earlier and tried to sleep. In a few minutes, he was fast asleep and not having a nightmare for once. Of course, that all changed once he heard some distant screaming and Trixie shaking him.

"RICK! RICK, GET UP!"

Already used to having to wake up at a moment's notice, Rick rubbed his one eye and stood up abruptly, "What, what, what? What happened?" Now more awake, his hearing picked up and made sense of the screaming, "Wait… where the hell is that coming from?"

Trixie quickly galloped to the window and pointed, "Somepony is in trouble!"

Rick ran over, "What? Who in their right mind would be stupid enough to come here?"

"Him, apparently."

Rick watched as a small brown and white pony was running from a Manticore and just barely keeping out of range of its pounce.

Rick gritted his teeth, "Who is that? Do you know him?"

"No, but we have to help him! We can't just leave a colt to get _killed_ by a Manticore!"

Rick's eye narrowed slightly in thought, "No, we're not going to help him."

"_WHAT?_"

"I'm going to help him, and you're going to stay here and keep the castle safe."

Trixie began, "But-"

Rick cut her off, "No, Trixie, you're staying here and that's that. Now… where's my gun?"

Trixie looked around frantically, "I'm not sure!"

"Whatever, I'll just have to do this another way."

Rick ran out the Atrium, down a set of stairs, and pushed his way out of the door and the front of the castle. Setting his sights on the little pinto colt, he pushed through the stasis shield and ran forward. Reaching the colt as it was running to his left, he scooped it up while still sprinting towards Ponyville. The Manticore roared and gave chase to its newer meal while Rick leaped over fallen trees, ducked under low branches, and dodged thick bushes. The small white and brown colt uncovered his eyes, thinking he was in the clutches of the Manticore, and looked up in horror.

"W-who are you!"

Rick, taking his eyes off of his path to give the colt a quick glance, smirked, "Oh, no one. Just your human shield taking bullets and grenades for you."

"Wha-"

The small colt was cut off when Rick rolled over a large and toppled tree. Rick gave him another glance before chuckling.

"What's wrong, scared?"

"YES!"

Rick stepped around a thorn bush, "Don't be. I'm here, so what's to be afraid about?"

The colt looked behind Rick, "The Manticore?"

"Trust me, nothing bad is going to-" Rick slid to a halt and ran to his left as he lifted the colt above his head, "happen. I know what I'm-" Rick tripped over a tree root and held the colt as to not hurt him.

The Manticore made a swipe towards Rick while he was getting up. Luckily, Rick placed the colt above his head, and as a result, Rick's stomach was partially sliced open. Not completely cutting it open, the swipe left clear marks of tearing past the skin, muscle, and near his organs. Rick glanced at his abdomen to see that part of his intestines was peeking out a small crack and blood was quickly spilling out. He let one hand free of the colt and pushed a small sphere of combusted air at the Manticore. His hand was more than singed, as the skin around his fingers turn crusty and black from the heat. Getting up, he quickly ran in the direction of Ponyville and away from the distracted Manticore who was pawing at its own face.

"How did you do that?"

Rick realized he was still carrying the colt, "Psionic emissions that alter physical reality by intensifying the energy of the human psyche in order to break the barriers of natural physics, chemistry, and biology."

"What does that mean?"

"I can make things happen."

"Oh."

"Say," Rick ducked under an overly large spider web, "what's your name, kid?"

"You're a stranger…"

Rick frowned, "I'm saving your life."

The colt shook his head, "_You _tell me _your_ name first!"

Rick glared at the colt for a moment, 'Is this kid fucking serious?'

"Fine. My name is Rick."

The colt put his hoof to his chin, "Wait a second… You're that monster who's been attacking Ponyville!"

Rick sighed, "Seriously? Get over it. What's your name?"

The colt though it over for a moment, "Pipsqueak."

"I'm calling you Pip."

"Bu-"

Rick raised his head slightly, "Nope."

"Someponies call me Pip, though!"

Rick stumbled for a moment and took notice of the Manticore that was closing in, "Oh. Do you play football?"

"What's that?"

"DO YOU KNOW WHO JOHN MADDEN IS?"

"Wh-"

"So I take it you don't play football here. Sad. When we get back to that town, I'm going to throw you as far as possible, like a football. Got it?"

Pip casted him a frightened glance, "Isn't that dangerous?"

"Would you rather be disemboweled by a Manticore?"

"I don't know what that means!"

Rick smirked, "It means he wants to play with you, but only one he wants to play really, _really_ rough."

"Uhh…"

"Just try to land in a roll or something, because I can throw pretty far. We're getting close, get ready."

With that, Pip curled up defensively, "Okay…"

The Manticore was definitely closing the distance, and the wound it inflicted earlier was easily slowing Rick down due to blood loss. Taking the moment to give one last push, Rick sprinted towards the town and pulled back his right arm. With one quick motion, Pip was sent flying in the air and into an applecart being manned by Applejack. Rick didn't bother to hear the conversation due to the fact he was tackled by the Manticore and dropped to the floor. Rick picked himself up and looked around for any kind of makeshift weapon that he could use, and once he found nothing, resorted to looking for one around the town with the Manticore in chase.

Arriving at the town square, Rick noticed that the scaffold meant for restoring the town hall was still there, despite the fact it was in perfect condition now.

'Goddamn red tape even hits places like these…'

Rick ran towards the scaffold and looked for some kind of tool that might help him in this situation. Right as he ducked down to grab a small screwdriver (anything at that point would have helped), the Manticore flew over his head and slammed itself head first into the scaffold. Rick assumed it tried to pounce before he crouched, and now it was about to be buried under a pile of wood and metal. He backed off while the Manticore shook the stun from its head and growled at Rick. Before it managed to get closer, however, the entire structure crumbled and fell on top of it, hopefully stopping it.

"Huh. Guess that settles that."

Rick began slowly walking away, whistling, when he flipped around to the sound of rubble moving. He looked back in his hand, saw the screw driver, and instantly knew what to do. Taking the tool in his right hand, he climbed on top of the shifting rubble and proceeded to stab the Manticore's tail in an attempt to cripple it from being used. Of course, this only angered the Manticore, which burst free from the garbage, sending Rick flying. Landing in the town square on his back once again, Rick forced himself up as his eyes scanned for a weapon one last time. Finding nothing in the vicinity, he readied himself to fight this creature using his own ability in retaliation.

Now that it was standing on the stone ground again, Rick could see the singed parts of the Manticore's face. The creature itself was slightly larger than the last one, but seemed far more ferocious. Rick considered if this was the mate of the one he killed, but disregarded it due to it being not a worthy topic at the time. The Manticore stalked forward with that predator scowl and lunged forward. Rick rolled to his right, only to be smacked by the tail instead. Getting back up, Rick's temper was starting to build.

"Hey asshole, go back to your litterbox or some shit."

The Manticore roared in retaliation, sending some its breath Rick's way.

Rick's face crinkled as he coughed, "God! What the fuck did you eat? Garbage!"

It leaped forward, pinning Rick to the floor for a moment and digging its claws under his skin. Knowing what to do, Rick pretended his hand was a Taser and ran a current through it. Pressing it against the face of the Manticore, both were significantly shocked, with Rick receiving less. The Manticore became dazed as Rick slid himself out from under it, where upon his exit he got up and took a few steps back.

Once again, it rushed at him and swiped him on his left arm before he could dodge, sending him into a spin to the floor. Hitting his face against the hard stone ground, Rick grabbed a loosened stone brick and threw it at the face of the Manticore. Hitting it dead on in the nose, it began to paw at its face again before glaring resentfully at Rick. Seeing Rick chuckle at it sent it into frenzy as it came at him again. Now more prepared, Rick decided to try something that he hadn't fully tried out earlier.

Forcing an inwards gravitational pull near his hand, he pulled in as much air as he could while the Manticore made its advances. The Manticore noticed the air distortions surrounding his hand, but paid it no mind. Bringing its massive jaws out, it attempted to take a large bite of Rick. The spectating ponies that gathered to watch the fight the whole time it was playing out began to grow in numbers as just about everypony in the small rural town arrived to see. What happened next was definitely something they didn't expect.

Bringing down his fist, it collided with the front end of the Manticore's face, sending a small, outward gravitational explosion both their ways. Knocked off of his feet, Rick felt as though something was missing. He looked over to see the Manticore's face was bloodied, unrecognizable, and severely dented near the bridge of the nose. Rick blinked once before trying to stand up using his hands only for one to slip and make him fall again. A horrible pain began to shoot up his arm as he looked at his now nonexistent hand. Where the hand once was lay nothing but a few strands of muscle connected to the radius and ulma of his arm. They were cracked and broken, spreading pain and agony throughout his body as he gripped the stump with his good hand.

Dropping down onto his knees, Rick was left speechless for a moment before exploding in anger, "WHAT THE _FUCK!_ MY FUCKING HAND EXPLODED!"

He could hear the murmurs and talk of the ponies watching. Some sounded disgusted, some sympathetic, and others mostly unsure of what to think at all. This must have been a rare occurrence in these parts, if that wasn't painfully obvious. The Manticore stood up shakily as Rick scowled harder than he ever had before. Taking the chance to attack, Rick repeated the inwards gravitational field and let it loose again, not only destroying more of his arm, but more of the Manticore's face as well. Now just barely reaching past the elbow, Rick cocked his arm back again repeated the process until all that was left was a small amount of muscle tissue connected to his shoulder.

Rick dropped down to one knee breathing heavily. Blood freely spurt from the cut veins and muscle tissue that connected to his right arm, as well as from the cut areas of his left arm and abdomen. He glanced back to see those six ponies from earlier watching him with some kind of feeling of helplessness. The purple one, whose true name escaped him once again, began spouting words to the small dragon Rick smashed into the floor earlier. It was writing something on a piece of paper before setting it on fire and burning it. Rick cleared his mind long enough to mentally raise a brow at destroying something you had just worked on, but the pain sent him right back.

Slumping now, Rick began to feel much dizzier. In contrast, the Manticore shook off _its_ daze and glared at Rick. Surprised, Rick rose to his shaky feet and put up his left arm, ready to continue if necessary. Something told him to take a quick look back, which he did. Seeing the much more surprised faces of those ponies watching him get up from his wounds was somewhat satisfying. Rick took notice of Pip, who was near those six, and saw his widening eyes. Rick turned his head back around, only to be stabbed in the abdomen by the tail of the Manticore. Lifting him into the air, it forced itself through and broke past the spine. Now all the way through, the tail slammed him repeatedly onto the floor while Rick lost all control of his lower body from the spine detachment. Now essentially defeated, the Manticore dropped Rick to the floor and stood over him. Pinning him down, it placed its head over his and opened its jaws as wide as possible. Rick knew what was going to happen next, and the screams from the crowd only agitated both of them more.

Rick gritted his teeth, "Do it, you bitch! Finish me! I'll be sure to come back as a ghost! Hah! HAHAH! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

A burst of light occurred near the crowd, but Rick continued his maniacal laughter nonetheless. Rick's laughter was soon cut off when the Manticore literally bit off the front end of his skull, crushing the bones and cutting the brain in half. Chewing it in its mouth for a moment, its face turned sour as it spit out the pile of broken bone, flesh, and organs to the body's side. It was about to get up when a large beam of energy impacted against its back. It flipped around to face the perpetrator, only to greet Princess Luna. Its eyes shifted around for a moment before growling. Despite its defense, it mentally began to back off as it knew it had no chance.

Luna's scowl and piercing gaze stopped the Manticore in its tracks as she lit up her horn and shot another beam of energy at its disfigured face. Almost crushing it inwards, the horrendous amount of pain forced it to recoil and whimper as it turned tail in an attempt to run away. Luna would hear nothing of it, however, as she magically grabbed it by its tail and slammed it back down into the stone ground, cracking it.

The mayor was obviously displeased and somewhat frustrated as she placed a hoof to her forehead, "Not again…"

Luna's actions began to get mixed reactions, which mostly consisted of a growing fear and uneasiness. She pulled it closer as she shot another ray of energy at it. Writhing in the painful torture now, the Manticore tried to paw itself away from the Princess. Still, Luna would not allow it. Right as she was about to finish it for killing Rick, a loud roar echoed across Ponyville. All of the ponies, including Luna, glanced around the town to find the source, which they considered might be another Manticore. As luck would have it, it was something far more odd and menacing entirely.

A creature that looked like a slightly larger and overly muscular version of Rick leaped off of the town hall, and straight at the Manticore. Luna, somewhat scared and surprised to see another human, backed off as it leaped on top of it. Hooking its arms under the Manticore's, it pulled back and broke them without any resistance. The weakening roar of the Manticore switched to even weaker yelps of pain while the humanoid switched towards its mouth. Opening the large jaws, the human placed one foot inside of the mouth while placing both hands on the upper part. Forcing them apart, a sickening crack could be heard echoing through the area as the jaw tore and the Manticore finally died off. The human removed its body from the Manticore's mouth and glanced at Rick's dead body. As if on cue, it disintegrated in those familiar particles and the human kept his eyes on it as it flew off into the deep forest he arrived from. He turned his head to the Princess, who stood her ground. It walked closer and looked down at her.

Speaking in a deep voice, it kneeled down, "Where does he live?"

Princess Luna was taken aback by it speaking, "You can talk?"

"Of course. Where does Rick live?"

Luna, now slightly more comfortable with this hulking creature, asked the question everypony was wondering, "Who are you?"

He gave a short chuckle before gripping the side of his head with one hand in pain. He blinked a few times as Luna extended a hoof to see if he was okay, thinking she had something to do with it. Somehow, in a way none of the ponies could understand, the creature shrunk slightly to be a few inches shorter than Rick and not as muscular as before. Shaking its head, it turned it towards Princess Luna and spoke in a voice that was slightly reminiscent of Rick, despite the different accent.

"You can call me Aden."

* * *

><p>The plot thickens.<p>

Anyway, this chapter is shorter than usual because I'm going to use it to set up for the next one. That's going to be longer, more confusing, and chock full of references that probably only a few of you will get.

While I'm at it, I should probably discuss the future chapters etc. of Stasis. I know just about everyone will dislike this, but there will be a chapter where Rick is unknowingly forced to be a pony with no recollection of his past life. Why? Because it fits in the plot for reasons you'll see later. Will he chill with the Mane Six? Nope, his dislike is going to carry over into his unknowing pony form. He's going to chill with a few that might just make sense if you think about it, but I won't mention them. I dislike ponification with a passion, but now there's an actual reason to have it done. A few old friends are going to make an appearance and due to Rick being essentially insane at that point, a certain someone will enlist the help of a certain pony to disguise him. During some point before that, Rick is going to be incapacitated for quite a while. Why? Because it fits in the plot for reasons you'll see later. But here's the thing, another character (not Aden) will be part of a test to cross over into the Equestrian/Magical world via the portals I included earlier. He won't be like Rick, not in the least. If anything, he's going to be less skilled than him in most ways, less self-assertive, and kind of a parody of other HiE fics where the protagonist just chills in Ponyville with the Mane Six. Why am I including this? Because I have the feeling that it's going to work out, and when Rick finally makes contact with him, expect a less than warm welcome from him. Why Rick will despise this newcomer? I'd say it's a sort of racism thing, but then again, I'd assume everyone else who works with Rick feels the same way. Now, who would the Americans dislike so much? The final ending to Stasis (the second part) will be up to the reader to decide in a poll. What I can guarantee is that no matter what ending is ultimately chosen, there will be a massive genocide on a specific population depending on what's decided to happen. All in all, I'm looking too far ahead with this.

Now, I tend not to do this often, in fact not at all, but there has been a story recently that has piqued my interest quite well. If you're like me and like Beavis and Butthead, go and read NocturneD's "Beavis and Butthead in Equestria". They're in character, Cornholio makes an appearance, and it's pretty good overall. I recommend you all read it and drop a review off for him for creating the best crossover to have ever surfaced. Also, his other works are pretty good, including his Arthur and FiM crossover. Check that shit out.

NocturneD's story: (DOT) net/s/7553219/1/Beavis_and_ButtHead_in_Equestria

Because I feel like an ass for messing up the link last time, I'm going to re-provide Delta-Zer0's artwork. Why? Because he's a G.

Delta-Zer0's Artwork: (DOT) com/?qh=§ion=&global=1&q=stuck+in+stasis#/d4bqr7o

Time for responding to reviews and shit? You bet.

nobodyreallyimportant: Doubt I'd call it anything like a book, but as you can see now, it was more than just a stasis malfunction in the beginning of the chapter.

John Creel: Word.

Ranzick: Nice to know my sex scene evasion skills aren't dull.

The many Jman377355 reviews: Uh-huh. What?

roboboy33: I was wondering if anyone would even laugh at the arm joke really.

Unknown2615: Celestia is nowhere near the bad side. If anything, Rick is considered the bad guy by Equestrians because he essentially walked in and started fucking stuff up randomly. Of course, Celestia can't do much because of how Luna would react to any aggression between them. Also, in regards to John, I tried to make him as human acting as possible. I referenced the whole thing about how Lyra mimics humans (guess who Rick's going to hang out with later) there too. He was originally going to be part of another fic idea I had where he would ultimately die to save his daughter, but I guess I have to change that. Maybe they will meet again later.

Mawxter: Nope, probably won't ever. Maybe after I completely redo the first eleven chapters, I'll consider putting it on FIMfiction.

louieBB: And that's how humanity was saved.

Ponyman130: Long chapters = better reviews apparently.

spyrolink: More than a little different actually. I'll get into that farther down.

deaths lovely nightmare: From what I can tell, people seem to like the longer chapters better.

ToonNinja: Cliffhangers are fun.

Ranzick (again): Nope, but someone else was meant to get an extremely limited version of that.

Yaroz (a.k.a. my favorite reviewer for some reason): Thanks man, I try to make the fic as best as possible, which is why I'm going to list what needs to be changed farther down.

NocturneD: Get cracking on a new chapter.

Wolf Iki: It's completely unoriginal! That's what makes it so bad! Oh, but I prefer to think I set it apart somehow from the others.

ArchWarrior213: I honestly plan on having a making a different outlook of humans than in other stories. Most others say humanity is "corrupt, vile, horrible" and the world is full of "hate, death, and war". I personally dislike that greatly, and I don't want to go that way with this fic. It's meant to show that humanity is definitely not perfect, but the imperfection is what gives it its beauty. Also, I'm entirely sure there's a "lie" given off by the show, but the watchers most likely think it.

I'd just like to thank all of the reviewers and people who favorited me, my story, or even bothered to get past the first chapter. It's you guys that make this fic keep on going, and I appreciate that. Whether they're good or bad, reading reviews warms my arteries. It's nice to know that people actually like my fic despite its errors and such, especially if they're an author like ToonNinja (go read his fic, Bridled Fury). People like Yaroz who leave really positive reviews are the best, because it frankly feels great to know someone appreciates your work. What does this mean? I'm actually doing something right here and people like it. What does that mean for me? A lot. Once again, a thanks to everyone.

Onto other matters, specifically Rick's psychological degradation. Since the third chapter, Rick was supposed to be in a steady decline from overexposure to stasis. His body would suffer, his psyche would crumble, and he'd be left a pile of crazed flesh waiting to explode. I realize now that I made it too subtle and not out there enough. I'm going to fix that once I finish this part of Stasis and redo the first dozen chapters. If anyone is willing to help me with doing so, please contact me. The faster I get done with that, the faster I can crank out chapters. I'm not sure what a "beta-reader" is, but I guess it's something that can help me with writing etc.. Anyway, getting back on track, his "powers" are explained directly by him in this chapter. Psionic energy altering the physical reality. Is that possible? Who the hell knows. Does it make for an interesting plot? Possibly. Does it hurt him more than help? You better believe it. When I originally implemented it, I had it hurting him slowly in mind. The more he uses it, the more his body loses its ability to protect itself from certain things. His nerves would wear down, his brain would falter, and his ability to think, rationalize, and even his perception of reality would become skewed. I'll go into it more during a later chapter. All in all, it would kill him the more he uses any sort of ability. Also, reconstruction is the probably the most second devastating thing to happen to him. The body can only be remade so many times before certain things start changing or being lost. Every time Rick dies, his psychological standing is drastically damaged, forcing him closer and closer to one-hundred-percent insanity. His insanity was demonstrated in this chapter through his hallucinations.

Now, there are definitely problems with this story as a whole, and here is a list of what needs to be fixed before I work on the second part:

-Remove some cursing in the first few chapters. It seems like a serious turn off now that I look at it.

-Nerf Rick's abilities.

-Increase mental damage's noticability.

-Alter his timeline very slightly to fit together properly.

-Actually make a quick timeline of the events that happened and are to come.

-Add more of Rick's thoughts and rationalizations in the earlier chapters.

-Redo the earlier chapters.

-Get rid of Tyrone (mantis) entirely. He's honestly a character I came up with out of the blue that shouldn't have ever existed. He needs to be cut as well as all traces of him existing in Equestria.

-Remove anything that infringes on the plot/timeline.

-Alter some character descriptions and make the entire story smoother.

-Fix anything OOC (problems ahoy).

-Change username so it doesn't get confused with the character's. Very stupid mistake on my part that I didn't notice until it was too late.

Well, I think I got most of everything there. I've been rereading some of the chapters up until eleven, and I gotta say, my writing was crap. It really was. On the bright side, my writing has definitely gotten better with practice, and I think it shows in the recent chapters. That's why I'm going to redo the earlier ones.

So, because I dislike the idea of not sharing certain information, I'm going to provide story stats. Why am I doing this now? Because its was a fairly short chapter and I needed to include something.

Words as of before this chapter: 212,221 (Coincidence that they're all one's and two's? Hmm...)

Reviews as of before this chapter: 161 (Once again, thanks)

Story Faves: 68 (Is that a lot for a story? Not sure, but I like it anyway.)

Story Alerts: 75 (Seems like a lot.)

Author Faves: 18

Author Alerts: 25

Total Profile Hits: 864

Total Story Views so far: 35,439 (_That_ sounds like a lot.)

The first chapter has the most views at 8,881. What does this mean? People just stopped reading it as soon as they saw it. What does that mean? I need to fix some shit.

Most Reviewed Chapter: 11 at 17 reviews.

Highest Word Count in a Chapter: 43,205 in Chapter 18

So, those are some of the stats for Stasis. What I'm also wondering is if I should lower the rating from M to T. Stasis does have some "adult" scenes and some gore, but does that constitute an M rating? Either way, I don't like the idea of changing the rating just for more views and reviews. That would make me feel like a sell out.

Also, keep an eye out for any polls on my page, it'll help if you vote for this stuff so I know what to do in my story. There's one now, if you're willing to take a minute to do it.

Anyway, it's been good, and I somewhat enjoyed this chapter and I hope you do too. It sure as hell should be confusing, so if you are, PM me, ask in a review etc..

Until next time,

Keep it Trilla.


	20. Chapter 20

**Stasis**

**Chapter 20: He Was a Good Scavenger**

**By: Stillmatic**

* * *

><p>With the sun setting over the vast tracts of land that constituted Indiana, three old friends reunited by the death of the fourth stared at the large tulip tree. No one had said anything for some time, and the lowering sun eventually pushed one of them to speak.<p>

John, a brown stallion depressed at the loss of a fellow survivalist, turned his head to his two companions, "Do you think it's fitting? Do you think Kirill would have liked it?"

The group itself consisted of: John, a father and forager of technology; Ames, an ex-businessman turned looter; and Crowe, the proud forest ranger who abandoned his job like many others in favor of surviving against a plague of unrelenting, rage-induced killing machines. The fourth of the group, Kirill, was being silently mourned by his old companions from underneath the dirt. A Bentley Continental with a sleeping child inside was nearby at the bottom of the hill, ready to driven off to a safer location. As they all stared at the makeshift grave they established for their friend, the tree shook lightly with the breeze.

Ames kneeled down and bit the corner of his bottom lip, "Yeah… he always did like these trees. He grew up in a place like this, you know. Wide open, farms, grains, all that stuff…"

Crowe sighed, "Damn… I can't believe it. It had to end like that? For him of all people?"

Ames patted him on the back, "There was nothing we could have done. At least it was quick and he didn't suffer. Let's at least be thankful for that." He turned his head to John, "You want to put it up now?"

John nodded as they both began to set up a grave marker a little behind the plot of dirt. While none of them were particularly religious (John especially), they felt it was fitting to recognize Kirill's old position as a priest. It wasn't much, but they managed to get a few boards of wood and nail them together in a traditional Russian Orthodox cross. John had taken a small plate of metal and nailed it on before using his magic to write something on it. Stepping back, he examined the plate along with his friends.

Crowe read it out loud, "Kirill Egorovich, a man whose life was cut short unexpectedly, yet showed true dedication, honor, and compassion until the end. May he rest in peace for all times to come and watch over his dear friends."

Ames's blank face faltered for a moment before returning to normal, "It was a good run. Come on; let's set it up for him. One last favor for an old friend."

With that, John and Ames lifted the cross and pressed it into the dirt behind the plot. Crowe, who had been relatively calm during the whole ordeal, turned away for a moment to wipe a rouge tear from his face. John and Ames pretended as though they hadn't noticed and stood back to see the grave.

John gave a weary smile, "I almost forgot."

John reached around himself with his magic and retrieved a backpack with only two items. Taking out the items, he set the bottle of vodka into the dirt by the cross and placed the gasmask along with the backpack at either side of the top beam separately. John smiled again and walked back to his friends.

"Come on, it's getting late and we need to find a spot to camp out for tonight."

Ames nodded, "Right, let's set up a little bit down the road by some tall grass."

The three of them walked down the small hill and entered the car. John gave one last glance to the large tulip tree and watched its branches move lightly in the wind. Turning the ignition, John put the car in gear and drove off farther down the road.

* * *

><p>It was dark out now, and the crackling of the campfire was the only noise other than the natural ambience of crickets and other animals crawling through the dark night. John absently poked a twig at the collection of larger sticks and stones that composed the campfire. The tall reeds and blades of grass blocked the outside world from this small collective of the slowly dying world. Crowe sat and stared at the ground between his feet while Ames was rummaging through his backpack for some kind of food. Taking out what he called a "Diet Sausage" and a "Tourist's Delight", he set the sausage and the tuna can near the fire to heat them up.<p>

Crowe noticed the food items lying there and suddenly felt his parched throat asking for some kind of liquid. In his mind, he felt the best course of action was to honor his dead friend and drink what he would have drank in this situation: vodka. Reaching into his own backpack, he removed quite a few bottles that he kept stashed in protective compartments that he designed himself. John and Ames eyes drifted to the bottles as Crowe handed each of them one of the bottled clear liquid. They gave a half-smile to each other before uncapping them and giving them a taste.

John winced slightly from the burning sensation of the alcohol and grabbed a small piece of bread from his backpack. Nibbling on it at first, he began to take bigger bites along with larger swallows of vodka. Hoping for a more relaxed atmosphere, Crowe began to match John's drinking with his own. Ames could only smile at his friends trying to push the memories of the day behind them, and decided he wouldn't mind it either. Twisting off the cap, he began to down the liquid and bite off parts of the sausage in between. Seeing Crowe without food however, stopped him from continuing. After all, Crowe did supply the drinks for them, so wouldn't it be nice to return the favor somehow? Ames lifted the "Tourist's Delight" can to Crowe, who graciously took it, opened it, and used a fork from inside of his backpack to slowly eat it.

The three unlikely friends sat there for a few minutes to bask in the moment. Here they were, a stallion and two human men drinking vodka and eating questionable food around a campfire surrounded by creeping grass. The logs they sat on were uncomfortable, but at least the company was good. Eventually, they all finished their first bottles as Crowe took out another three.

Alcohol was usually something common between Crowe and Ames, but despite that John had barely ever touched the stuff, he proved that he was just as resistant to the intoxicating effects as them. Still, they were all a bit more than tipsy at that point.

John belched, "Sorry. Hey-Hey Crowe!"

The man turned his bobbing head to him, "Yeah?"

"Man, where did you get all of this stuff? That-that's like a _shit-load_ of _vodka_!"

Ames began laughing at some unknown joke and slapped his knee, "HAHAH! He pulls it out of his is ass where he gets it!"

Crowe pulled his second bottle away from his mouth, "Hey! Ehh… maybe… not so…"

John cut him off and grinned widely, "Hey, that means your drinking his ass vodka, Ames! I bet you like the taste of th-_that_!"

All three burst into laughter before settling back down into the occasional chuckle. After they nearly finished half of their second bottles, the mood slowly turned darker along with their thoughts. John's mind slowly pieced together the day along with the pent up emotions. He looked at Crowe, who receded back to his emotionless state of staring at his feet while Ames seemed to just watch the fire blankly.

Eventually, John and Ames's ears picked up quiet sobs. They turned their gaze to Crowe, who had tried his best to hold in the emotion in front of his friends. Of course, he eventually broke down crying as Ames slowly felt the pull of sadness snag him. It wasn't long before both of them were dropping tears for their fallen comrade as John watched, trying his best not to follow their example. He turned back to his vodka and lifted it up to drink it before the label caught his eyes. He slowly put it down and examined the name, "Cossacks Vodka". It was certainly an odd name, but alcohol was alcohol, and vodka seemed to be the appropriate drink at the moment to drown your emotions in. He downed a gulp of it and put it back down on the ground.

Seeing his friends' emotions soon put him in the same state they were in and by that time, he was already crying along with them. The loss of a great man and a greater friend who stuck by them despite their differences was more than enough to bring them together in mourning. After an hour or two of venting their emotions, they each fell asleep on their logs, or in Crowe's case the ground, and let the slow night and ambient sounds take them into their slumber.

* * *

><p>It was dawn now, and each of them slowly woke up with a pain in their heads. Crowe tenderly wiped the dirt from his head as he sat up on the log once more. Ames groggily did the same and rubbed his eyes. John, however, was already awake and now being watched by the two men. He lifted his head towards them, showing the dark areas under his eyes. They each knew the pain that was associated with the loss, but now it was time to continue. While one of them had died, they still needed to continue despite what had happened.<p>

John sighed and smiled, "Had a good sleep?"

Ames kept his eyes closed and nodded while yawning, "Yeah, yeah." He exhaled, "Listen, about last night-"

Crowe rubbed his temples, "Man, not so loud."

John continued for him, "Let's just move on. We still have to get to New York."

Ames smiled, "Yeah… but how about just _one last drink_, for Kirill."

Both Crowe and John grinned as all three lifted the nearly finished bottles up to their faces. They waited for a moment for someone to say something, but all was silent.

Finally, John spoke up, "To Kirill. He… He was a good scavenger… May he rest in peace."

The other two murmured their agreements and drank the last of the vodka. Setting down the bottles in the dirt, they got up and left behind the small encampment. John sighed and opened the driver side door before staring back at the tulip tree residing on the far hill. Crowe and Ames followed his eyes and smiled.

John lowered his head to get into the car, "I'm going to miss him."

Crowe opened the door and stepped in the backseat next to a sleeping Tanya, "Same here."

Ames sat in the passenger side seat and leaned back, "Such is life on Earth, my fellow scavengers… Such is life on Earth…"

There were a few murmurs in response, but they were cut off when John started the car. Putting it into drive, he aligned his mirror and saw the tree. A feeling crept into the car as he began driving and each of them felt it. Despite the hectic and chaotic series of events so far, there was a sort of lively peace that flooded their senses. Their journey may have taken a severe blow yesterday, but they were still determined on finishing it, no matter the cost. For all the lives that were lost, all the friends who were prematurely cut down, and all of the people who hadn't fully experienced life, they needed to finish what they started. They had each met seven years ago one fateful day in California, but so much has changed since then. Now, they were changed men with different lives and new philosophies. There was the need to carry on despite each loss and blow, and they were a few of the many who still fought to stay alive in a world that showed no mercy.

As the mood began to relax, so did the occupants of the car.

Crowe yawned and blinked a few times before realizing something, "Hey John, you never told us, where did you get the car? And all of this other stuff?"

John smirked and glanced back at him with the rearview mirror, "A friend."

Ames raised a brow, "A friend? Who?"

Chuckling, John spoke with a grin, "Rick."

Both Ames and Crowe looked back at each other in confusion, prompting John to reveal more information.

"Rick Vali."

A look of shock crossed both of men's faces, leaving John nearly about to burst out in laughter.

Crowe crossed his arms, "Lies. He's dead. The news said so."

Now it was John's turn to raise a brow, "Do you believe everything the news tells you?"

Ames replied for him, "No, but everyone know he died years ago. He's just another dead legend now."

"That's what you think. Here, take a look at this."

John used his magic to levitate his PDA to Ames, with a very specific picture in mind. Ames's eyes widened as he took in the picture of both John and a very familiar looking and famous man standing side by side wearing matching combat vests. The relaxed poses along with the smirks across their faces left him speechless as he handed it to Crowe. His reaction was no different from Ames once he saw it, and he didn't hold in any words either.

"What-what the hell? He's _alive_? How's he _alive_?"

John clicked his tongue, "He was in my world the whole time."

Ames shook his head, "He was in Aquaria?"

"Equestria," John corrected him.

Crowe was still left amazed, "So he didn't die? How the hell did you meet him?"

"Well, I was passing through Chicago when this building lit up. I went to see it, and there he was. I ended up saving him from a Basilisk and he helped me out in return. You know, this _is_ his car."

Both of the men stared at the car self-consciously. Before John knew it, he was getting creepy looks from the both of them.

John's brows furrowed nervously, "What?"

Ames crossed his arms, "Well?"

"Well what?"

Crowe smiled, "Are you going to tell us the story or not?"

"Yeah, what's the guy like? Anything like they said he was?" Ames questioned.

John couldn't help another stupid smile, "He's actually a lot more. Pretty chill guy, actually."

Crowe looked at John, "So he isn't some hardcore military badass?"

John grinned, "Oh, he's a badass alright. But he said he didn't like being associated with the military."

Ames turned away for a moment in thought, "Huh, really now. That's pretty interesting. So, go on."

John gave a false sigh as if he were tired but couldn't hold in a chuckle, "Well, you see…"

* * *

><p>In case you haven't noticed, I changed my pen name so it doesn't conflict with the character's name. Why that happened in the first place is beyond me (story for another time). Anyway, I'll edit the other chapters to feature the new name. If you get where my new pen name is from, you will have my respect (value varies from person to person).<p>

Short chapter this time, for reasons I'll state below. I probably won't be able to update for the rest of the month (before New Years is a possibility) due to the ton of papers on random bullcrap and finals on stuff I can't give three shits about. It'll be fun! Review responses next chapter, because I'm particularly lazy right now.

This chapter was actually did on the fly because of some terrible news that has recently surfaced. I'm not sure how many of my readers have ever heard of or played any of the games from the STALKER series, but if you have, you might have heard the news. Supposedly, GSC (the company who makes the game) has shut down and cancelled STALKER 2. That's a pretty horrible thing to happen, seeing as though the game had a pretty decent following and its one of my favorite game series ever. This entire chapter was pretty much dedicated to it, and if you've played it, you probably saw all of the references there. I do consider this chapter canon to my story, however. Moving on, I'm not sure it matters to you, the reader, if GSC shutting down and STALKER 2 getting cancelled, but it matters a lot to me. It may be a rumor that's mistranslated (Either Ukrainian or Russian to English, which might cause some problems) or maybe a PR move. GSC is going to give an official statement Monday, so we'll see then.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this extremely short chapter of super-duper stalkin', and if you haven't played any of the games, I recommend you do.

As always, Get Out Of Here Stalkers.

(If you didn't understand any of this, ignore it. If you did, you're a fucking G.)

Added Note after uploading: Seems I just went and fucked up the story's chapters by mistake. FFNet, you are an ass.

Another Added Note after uploading again: Disregard the first sentence in the last note, I have fixed the problems, I think. The second sentence still stands, however.


	21. Chapter 21

**Stasis**

**Chapter 21: Reunions and Sexual Techniques Not Approved By The Department of Health**

**By: Stillmatic**

* * *

><p>"<em>Hey, Ricky."<em>

_Rick turned his head to the other child, "What?"_

_Smirking, the kid nudged him, "Gimme your lunch money."_

_Rick laughed, "You wish… Hey, waddya wanna do today, Ches?"_

_Chester shrugged, "There's not much to do."_

"_My dad says that Brooklyn isn't boring all the time though! How come we get bored then?"_

"_Maybe your dad's job makes it not boring."_

"_Yeah… Hey, do you think our dads work and hang out together like us?"_

"_That would be cool! Wait… what do our dads even do?"_

_Rick thought it over for a moment, "I think I remember hearing them talk once."_

_Chester had his interest piqued, "What did they say?"_

_Rick tried hard to remember, "I- I think… they were talking about spy stuff!"_

_Chester looked skeptical, but intrigued nonetheless, "Spy stuff? Nah, not my dad."_

"_No, really! They were talking about all kinds of things!"_

_Chester crossed his arms, "Like what?"_

"_Umm… they said they were going to go to someplace called K-kornea?"_

_Chester grinned, "I think you mean Korea, Ricky. I don't think they'd go there."_

"_Why?"_

"_My mom always talks about how dangerous it is."_

"_So?"_

"_Why would our dads go there if it's dangerous?"_

_Rick smirked smugly, "Maybe my dad is just cooler than yours and went there to go fight Russians."_

_Chester gave him a confused look, "Russians are from Russia, Ricky."_

"_Oh. My dad is still cooler."_

"_Nah."_

"_Yeah."_

"_Nope."_

"_Yep."_

"_No."_

"_Yes."_

_Chester pressed his hands against his ears, "NANANA CAN'T HEAR YOU!"_

_Rick shoved him, "What's wrong? You don't like me telling the truth?"_

"_Nuh-uh, you're just trying to get me mad."_

_Rick smiled, "Now why would I do something like that?"_

"_Because you do that all the time?"_

"_Nope. Anyway, did you think of anything we can do?"_

_Chester leaped off of the stoop, "NAH." Landing, he turned back to Rick, "You wanna go see what all the other kids are doing?"_

_Rick's smile faded slightly, "Them? I'm not that bored."_

"_Aww, come on Ricky! I don't know why you hate 'em! They're nice!"_

_Rick crossed his arms, "I just don't! They're weird and do weird things."_

_Chester sat at the bottom step of the stoop, "Well… wanna go to Perrelli's? Get some candy?"_

_Rick's face lit up, "Yeah! Hold on, I need to get some money!"_

_Rick ran inside of his house and returned a few moments later with a ten dollar bill, "Score!"_

_Chester looked awe-struck, "Ten dollars? How'd you get that?"_

_Rick raised his head smugly, "My mom."_

_Chester began laughing, "Momma's boy! Momma's boy!"_

_Rick shoved him again, "Hey! Stop! You're just jealous."_

_Chester turned serious for a moment, "Kinda. Your mom is way cooler than mine."_

_Rick gave him a warm smile, "Yeah. Come on, let's get some stuff!"_

_Rick began walking towards the corner market before turning back to see Chester wasn't following and instead looking off in the distance._

_Walking back, he asked the question Chester would hope he'd ask, "Hey, Ches? What's up?"_

_Chester turned his head to Rick, "Uhh, Rick..?"_

"_What?"_

_Chester began looking uneasy, "Do you think… we're going always going to be friends?"_

_Rick gave him a sympathetic look before bursting into laughter, much to Chester's dismay._

"_I'm serious!"_

_Rick stopped laughing, "Come on, Ches, of course we are! We're going to be the best friends to ever exist! Besides, we get to be best friends for the rest of our lives."_

_Chester began walking with Rick, "Yeah… I guess you're right."_

_Rick nudged him, "Why wouldn't you think we'd be friends forever?"_

"_It's just that… I always hear my parents talking about how they don't see some of their best friends anymore… I don't want that to happen to us."_

_A bit confused, Rick responded, "My parents say the same thing about their friends… Why? What happens to them?"_

"_I asked my mom one time, and she said something but I knew what she really meant."_

"_What?"_

"_That they weren't alive anymore."_

_Rick looked mortified, "What? No, that's not going to happen to us! We'll always be together, no matter what. I promise."_

_Chester smiled, "Really? Do you think we can, no matter what happens?"_

_Rick put his arm around his best friend, "Yeah, now let's get some stuff from Perrelli's."_

_Chester returned the gesture, "Sure, sure. Thanks, by the way."_

"_For what?"_

"_Nuthin'."_

* * *

><p>Rick's upper torso shot up as he began hyperventilating. He leaned forward and held his head up with a hand to his forehead. The smell of his own sweat was prevalent in the air, forcing him to realize that his entire body was nearly covered in it. The disgusting feeling coupled with a creeping sense of the fact he wasn't alone made him focused enough to take in his surroundings. He was lying on a medical cot right outside the shuttle and it appeared to be night from what he couldn't see outside. Finally, everything came back to him.<p>

'Wait… how am I not in the reconstruction chamber?' Rick then noticed another oddity, 'I-I have both eyes! What the hell?'

"Finally awake, huh Princess?"

Rick's eyes shifted to the doorway of the shuttle to see a few familiar faces. Stepping out were three of his favorite living and sentient beings, Princess Luna, Nightmare Moon, and finally, Aden.

Standing at only a few inches shorter than Rick, Aden didn't looked a day older than the last time Rick saw him. He was definitely dressed different from when they last met. No more was he dressed in a simple engineer jumpsuit, but now an odd skin-tight suit that didn't extend to the full length of his arms or legs. Rick recognized it as the same kind of suit that was worn under space suits. It wasn't in any way revealing to certain "aspects" to his body, but the material kept heat in and stretched to incredible proportions provided something actually managed to stretch it to those lengths. His blonde hair was no longer shoulder-length, but short and choppy. One thing Rick immediately noticed, however, was that the slight chubbiness caused by Aden's inactivity from field operations was replaced with a much more toned and muscular body, but either way, it was still less noticeable than Rick's much more trained body. All in all, the only thing that Rick truly recognized was Aden's face.

Luna gave Aden an odd look, to which he responded, "I was talking to Rick. It was an insult."

Princess Luna didn't seem to get it at first, "Oh, but why would you do that? I thought you two were friends?"

Rick and Aden gave each other a look before bursting into laughter. Both Moon and Luna didn't get the joke, or for all they knew, if there even _was_ one. The two humans eventually calmed enough to finally stare off.

Rick got off of the cot, but kept his eyes on Aden, "You know, I have a bone to pick with you."

The three stepped down from shuttle with Aden standing between the two ponies, "Oh, and what for, Rick?"

Rick chuckled as he walked over to Aden. Wagging a finger with a smile, he stepped in front of Aden and socked him in the mouth before he knew what was approaching. Surprised, Aden fell onto his back and rubbed his now aching jaw.

Rick grinned at him, "That's for setting me up with vegetarian meals only, asshole."

Both Moon and Luna were even more confused if not down-right shocked that Rick would punch his best friend in the face. Luna stared sympathetically at Aden, who was sitting up now, while Moon gazed at Rick. Rick caught the look and immediately understood what it was and what was to come from what he had just done. The primary feeling he saw in Moon's stare was lust. A wider grin grew across his face while Moon's remained suspiciously blank and focused solely on him. Rick stepped closer to her and without a second thought, did something he never expected of himself, or any human for that matter.

Right as Rick's lips were about to converge on Moon's, Aden grabbed Rick's heel and threw him to the floor while he was distracted. Quickly making the best out of Rick's surprise, he punched Rick in the stomach and stepped back to admire his work with a grin.

Aden clicked his tongue, "And that's for disappearing for a decade without at least saying 'bye'."

Rick groaned in pain as he slowly uncurled himself from his position and stood up. The scowl slowly melted into a warm smile as both he and Aden stared off once again. Luna and Moon watched, waiting for some kind of explosion of violence to occur. Instead, a series of hand movements were shared between the two humans that lasted for at least half a minute, followed by a handshake that led into what they called a "hood-hug". Suffice to say, it was somewhat heart- warming to the two ponies watching them.

Rick, still in the hood-hug with Aden, patted him on the back before releasing, "I've been waiting a hell of a long time for this."

Aden returned the pat with one to Rick's shoulder, "You've been waiting? I haven't seen you in over ten years… No homo, Rick, but I've missed you."

Rick grinned, "'Ight, 'ight, no need for any of that shit." He noticed Aden staring at him expectantly, forcing Rick to sigh, "Fine, fine… I may have missed you just a little. But not much, so don't get any ideas."

While both ponies were still confused at how the events transpired, it was Luna who spoke her observations without realizing it, "Humans have such odd ways of greeting each other…"

Both Rick and Aden glanced over at her and started laughing, but Rick stopped once he realized that not only were _both_ Princess Luna and Nightmare Moon _together_, but they weren't even _fighting_!

Aden lightly slapped him on the back, "Don't worry, they aren't going to be starting any trouble. I already took care of that."

Rick noticed the slightly scornful looks Aden received from the ponies, "What did you do?"

Aden shrugged, "Well, Moon came by after Luna led me here and I shut off the stasis shield you somehow managed to create despite you not knowing how that kind of technology works. We walked in, Moon saw Luna, Luna saw Moon, and they were about to face off when I stepped in and asked how many times you've died." Aden smiled, "Three times, supposedly. Anyway, I managed to calm them down long enough to see if you were still being reconstructed," his smile faded, "which you were, and it was beyond disgusting. They were worried about you, so I used that to get them to stop fighting. We got you out of the chamber after the ding, pieced you back together properly, and they used some of their magic to speed up the healing."

Rick took in the entirety of what Aden said then disregarded it and asked the question that was really on his mind, "What about my eye? How did you fix it?"

Aden smile returned, "Well, an anonymous friend gave the original to me. I hope you didn't try to use the foam on it to replace it, because that only works when the original body part dies too. From what Trixie told me, your eye was messed up bad. Getting it cut out and patching it up with biofoam? You won't reconstruct with a good eye unless it's your original. That's why I placed it back your head. Oh, and it wasn't easy fixing the job you did on yourself, you know. Also, if you notice any side effects, like maybe a blue tint in your vision, tell me."

Rick was thinking over what he had just heard and noticed something, "Who gave it to you?"

Aden shrugged, "An anonymous donation; the person had a gas mask on, could barely understand what the hell he was saying. He had this jar filled with an eye and some stasis fluid, and it had this little note on the top labeled, 'Rick's left eye', so I just took it assuming something happened to you. But seriously, three times? How is it you somehow start a dying streak on this planet, but not back on Earth?"

Rick grimaced, "Don't bring it up. My luck has been sporadic as fuck as of late." He glanced as Luna and Moon for a moment, then back at Aden, "But a few really good things have happened in my favor."

Aden eyed him suspiciously, "Yeah… I've heard about some of the 'good luck' you've been getting."

Rick began to get defensive, "Really, now? I hope you aren't going to go and start criticizing me without hearing me out."

Aden gave him a fake smile and spoke through it, "Of course not."

"Good. Now… What now? You're going to help me, right?"

Aden sighed, "With what?"

Rick gritted his teeth, "With killing Hadrian."

Aden looked surprised, "That's what I've been trying to do for a bit."

"Yeah, where were you this whole time? It was over a month ago you said you were going to come and help me."

"I've arrived on this planet the day I sent that teleportation message thing to you."

Rick, annoyed, bit the corner of his lip, "Why didn't you use the teleporter to actually come and help me?"

"We didn't have enough power to get it done."

"We?"

"May have forgot to mention this, but we have an ally with us being detained up in space."

"Who?"

"Dexter."

"Dexter… You mean the Director?"

"Yeah."

"Why are you calling him Dexter? He retired or something?"

Aden chuckled, "Nope. We've gotten to be pretty decent friends since this whole thing started. First name basis and all that stuff."

Rick frowned, "I never got to call him by his first name. Then again, he never called me Rick either. So why is he being detained?"

"Well, the base on the Moon has been set up, and all of the civilians are still in stasis for now. Hadrian was there along with some of his bodyguards and tried taking the whole thing over. I barely managed to escape, but Dexter was captured after pretty much locking down most of the base. I assume they're going to switch to the satellite now."

"Satellite? You brought one with you?"

Aden nodded, "Yeah, the ship we used, which took years to make in space using a space elevator, was meant to become the base and settle into the ground after we landed. We deployed a satellite to monitor for any incoming signals or 'interference'."

Rick scratched his nonexistent beard, "Hmm, sounds solid. And by interference, I'm assuming you mean-"

"The Commune? Maybe. Things have died down between them and the CFN."

Rick raised a brow, "Is it because Earth's a battleground with highly mutated individuals cutting down the human population?"

Aden's eyes widened for a moment, "How the fu-"

Rick cut him off and pointed to the two ponies, "Hey man, there are ladies present. And yeah, I know all about that resurgence of those god-forsaken bastards."

"How? You've been gone for over ten years, so how could you know about any of that?"

"The Princesses took me to my Chicago safehouse."

Adrian frowned, "You saw Chicago? That was one of the hardest hit cities."

"It was… really sad to see that city like _that_. It deserves better than to be abandoned and overrun."

Aden crossed his arms, "So, where've you been for the past ten years? Sitting here? You don't look any older than when I last saw you."

Rick chuckled. "I could say the same about you."

Aden smirked, "I have my reason as to why I still look like I'm in my late twenties."

"Late twenties? Don't give yourself _that_ much credit, Aden."

"Anyway, what's the deal?"

Rick sighed, "I've been in stasis since I left on that mission."

Aden's eyes narrowed, "Bullshit. No one could survive that."

Rick held his arms out, "But here I am, aren't I?"

"Let's just go and see what's been recorded on the cameras, shall we?"

Somewhat annoyed at the lack of trust, Rick obliged, "Fine, fine."

Both Aden and Rick walked back into the shuttle, leaving the two ponies behind as the humans examined the recording of Rick's mission. As Rick sped past his speech and random blathering, he approached the part where he was getting into the stasis chamber. After he got in, there appeared to be a fast moving object zooming about the shuttle, leaving a box-like object behind that shot out a bluish substance, covering every surface and darkening until there was nothing left to be seen. Both Rick and Aden stared at the monitor in not only curiosity, but in nervousness as they realized that something had tampered with Rick's mission once he was incapacitated.

"Rick… Just what exactly was happening there?"

Rick shook his head, "I'm not sure… let's rewind and slow it down."

Rick rewound the video to right after entering the stasis chamber. Slowing it down significantly, it displayed a small flash followed by a man stepping into the shuttle via what appeared to be a cloud of energy. The way he was dressed was odd… not like any military, scientific or agency type attire. Dressed in civilian clothing consisting of sneakers, jean, a plain, blue T-shirt and an unknown wrist attachment, the man began moving around the shuttle and grabbing bits and pieces of different equipment. Rick sped the video up and watched as the man put together the box-like object with ease, set it down, and activated it. The bluish substance spread out from the box and crawled up every wall until everything was completely covered in it. The man turned to the camera, approached it closely, and gave a broad smile. Aden and Rick felt the same heart-sinking awkwardness as they stared at Rick smiling at them through the monitor. The Rick in the video entered the energy again as it disappeared, leaving behind a completely dark environment.

Aden stared at Rick, "Is this some kind of joke?"

Rick kept his eyes on the monitor, "What the hell is happening…"

"That was you. How was that you?"

Rick shook his head, "Couldn't have been me, I can't do that."

"Displacing… But you made one of those stasis boxes right there," Aden pointed out of the shuttle and towards the Atrium, "and it works perfectly fine. How the hell did you know how to build it?"

"Remember when I wrote in that journal about stasis and its practicality?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Consider this: What if the body and mind are conscious during stasis exposure?"

"It isn't, though. We did the research."

"Yeah, but what if they are just barely there, just showing the slightest signs of being present?"

"What are you getting at?"

"What if I learned how to make one of those from myself?"

Aden's brow furrowed, "Say what?"

Rick nodded his head as he looked back at the monitor, "Yeah, yeah… What if I managed to get a Displacer later on, used it to go back and put the shuttle in stasis for ten years, and by doing it in front of myself, taught myself how to make one?"

"Rick, that sounds like a load of bullshit."

"Maybe I subconsciously learned how to make one because I already made one in front myself but didn't realize it?"

Aden began glaring at him, "Do you honestly believe that?"

Rick smirked, "Do you have another explanation?"

Aden walked out of the shuttle, "No, not yet at least. But still, ten years in stasis? Something isn't right here, Rick. You should be dead."

Rick's smirk stuck, "I'm just that strong, you know? Anyway, what about you? You haven't aged an iota."

Aden frowned, "Yeah, about that…"

Rick took a wild guess, "You're infected?"

Aden's jaw slackened slightly in surprise, "Wha- Whoa, whoa, whoa. How the _hell_ did you know that? You can't even tell by looking at me."

Rick stepped back and narrowed his eyes, "So it's true. You're one of _them_."

Aden stepped forward the step Rick took back, "Tell me how you knew?"

"You don't look a day older than when I last remember you. You completely changed the way you look and dress, and you aren't as chunky as before. Also, I noticed that your left index finger twitches a lot, which it never used to. I assume that's the nerves' reactions to the war that's going on inside of your body right now. Plus, you look slightly taller and more muscular than before. Before you go saying that you've been to the gym more, I'd like to point out that some infected humans grew in size from mutation. All in all, every little out of place thing points to the fact that you're infected with that virus."

Aden was left dumbfounded at Rick's observational skills, "It isn't the same mutagen virus as the one we saw on Shephard's Island. It's… different."

Rick's left brow raised, "Different? How?"

Aden pulled out a small pen knife from his pocket and flipped it open, "Watch."

Taking the knife, he cut a large gash down his arm, wincing in pain. He wiped the blood on a handkerchief and set the knife back as he held out his arm for Rick to see. Getting closer, Rick watched as the broken muscle and skin stitched itself back together, leaving only a faint scar. Left speechless, Rick absentmindedly poked the area, to which Aden gave a sharp gasp and pulled his arm away.

"Chill dude, it's still sensitive after that."

Rick got back up and pointed to Aden's arm, "So, what exactly did you get? That stuff you were exposed to back on the Island?"

"Right. That was the predecessor to your current dilemma."

"So you've been infected with the proto-virus? Have they given the virus a name yet? At all?"

"There's no official name other than "the Infection". Honestly, that's a stupid as shit idea, because that doesn't make anyone feel better."

"Something… that fits. Mutagenic infective virus? No… wait," inspiration suddenly hit Rick, "I got it, The Mutagenesis? Not in a way that causes mutation, but the dawning of a new species separate from humanity. A really messed up species, but a new species nonetheless."

Aden placed his hand on the back of neck, "Mutagenesis? It fits, but… it's a bit of morale-buster, don't you think? Humans aren't looking to change or be replaced."

"I don't hear any other suggestions."

Aden crossed his arms, "Well! I'll see about spreading that around from another planet, then!"

Rick's mind came across another thought, "Wait, how _did_ you guys get here anyway?"

Aden idly sat down on a stone, "I can't say, really. We did exactly what you did and went onto the dark side of the Moon. Next thing we know, we're on the bright side with the Earth looking at us. I don't know how the hell it happened, but we ended up there. And when we actually picked up your signal, well, we thought it was something like a miracle."

"Miracles don't happen, random occurrences do."

"Riiight, anyway, I used this experimental teleportation device we had with us. We were supposed to test it in zero-gravity and see if it would actually work, which it did. To a point."

"Is that why you looked like a ghost?"

"I didn't fully go through, so only my image and voice was being projected to you. It collapsed after that and we couldn't get it working again. So Dexter and I tried to find a way down to Earth to get to you, but Hadrian stepped in. I think he's lost it, Rick. He keeps switching personalities or something."

"He's bipolar or a schizo?"

"I don't know what he is. He calls himself Hadrian one moment and Drake the next. Something isn't right here."

" Really now? Drake..? Why does that sound familiar?"

Aden glanced at Rick, "You knew a Drake?"

"Yeah, that's what's odd… That was the name of Jethro's son…"

Aden got back up and stretched, "Well, another time for that then. There are some things we need to talk about," he snuck a glance at Luna and Moon who were somehow managing to talk civilly to each other near the fire pit, "now, preferably."

Rick cracked his neck, "Like what?"

Aden stared Rick dead in the eyes, "I've heard about the things you're able to do. That isn't normal, not for anyone."

Rick backed up a step due to the uncomforting closeness, "And?"

"What do you mean 'and?' You're fucking shooting flames out of your ass and lighting out of your dick! Don't you think there's something wrong with that?"

Rick smirked, "Sounds like someone is jealous."

Aden scowled, "Rick, I'm serious. We need to get you checked out. Come on, let's do a scan."

Rick sighed and followed Aden back into the shuttle without further complaint

* * *

><p>Nightmare Moon smiled and looked into the fire warmly in reminiscence, "He's quite the character… Interesting and… different…"<p>

Princess Luna, still untrusting of Moon, replied with a tinge of jealousy, "Yes, he is."

Moon turned her smile to Luna, "I'm assuming you feel something for him?"

Luna was a bit of confused at Moon's calmness and overall demeanor. She didn't understand how her evil counterpart was so relaxed, especially when so close to Luna herself. It was as if she didn't care about anything they had gone through and all the time they spent fighting on the Moon. What exactly was it that made her change her view of her so quickly? Was it what they shared between each other? Was it-

Luna shook her head to dispel the thoughts, "Yes… I do."

Moon smirked, "Really, now? Have you had any types of relations yet?"

Luna frowned, "No. I know you have though."

Staring back into the fire again, Moon hummed before answering, "I have. It was… quite an experience… after experience… after experience…"

Luna shuddered lightly at moons grin as her own frown deepened, "I don't think he would want to anyway. He says he doesn't mind my body, but I can feel something holding him back."

"I ran into that problem also, and I didn't want to force him to have relations with a different species."

"And you changed yourself to accommodate him, didn't you?"

"Yes. I don't regret it either."

Luna began to think over certain aspects of Rick before asking an unanswered question, "Do you think he would ever consider turning into a stallion?"

Nightmare Moon's smile fell, "Not at all."

"Really?"

"He's far too proud to change himself like that. I wouldn't want to impose the idea of change to him."

"But what about us changing?"

"As in..?"

"For as long as the relationship lasts."

Moon thought it over for a brief moment, "It would be interesting, but I'm not sure if giving up magic and flight would be right for me. I don't mind a temporary situation of course, but I'm not sure how long I could survive in a different body other than this one. But… I suppose if he was truly uncomfortable with the idea of having sex with a mare, I would consider it."

Luna blinked, "Really? I-"

* * *

><p>Making a small commotion, Rick stepped out of the shuttle with Aden patting his back along the way.<p>

Rick shook his head, "I-I just can't believe it… Lung cancer, yeah, I can understand that… but _all that_? And only four months left until it finally gets me? Damn… my nervous system is shot, by brain is close to just shutting down, and I'm getting close to dying from stasis exposure…"

Aden turned him around, "Listen, we can fix all of that with the proper treatment and surgery. We have the technology to make this work; we just need the right resources."

Rick pressed a hand to his temple, "And the infection… How long has it been there?"

Aden shrugged as sympathetically as possible, "Probably since that priest incident. Listen, maybe there's a cure."

Rick chuckled glumly, "We can't cure it, and the infection is the only thing keeping me alive at this point, right?"

Aden didn't respond for a moment, "… Yeah, you're lucky it's moving the stasis around without it stopping. You'd have been dead a long time ago if that was the case. That's probably why you've survived ten years in stasis."

"So how does this all tie together with any of my abilities?"

"Remember how Jenine was able to focus psionic energy?"

"Yeah, what you're saying is it's that?"

"Most likely. If she could do it, you must be able to."

"But how was she able to do it if she wasn't infected? I needed to be infected and slowly losing my sanity for it to force my brain to produce that kind of energy."

"That's where I'm stumped. What we know now at least is that you're use of that power is going to kill you unless you stop and we cure you. Nerve dead, brain dead, that's the end here. The infection is most likely present in your brain, that's why you're abilities are so strong but hurt you so bad."

"How are we going to find a cure? It's a virus that forces cells to produce a mutagen, how do you stop that?"

"Maybe something here in this world can provide us with the answer."

Rick scratched the side of his head idly, "You know, I recall hearing about a dragon who knows quite a bit about everything."

Aden gave him a skeptical look, "Dragon? What are we, in fairy-tale land?"

"It's our only lead, do you want to follow it or not? And your infection… it doesn't seem right."

"The gas that got me wasn't really a gas."

"What was it?"

"Billions of nanomachines carrying the original serum. That's why I heal so fast and can change like that."

"Wait… If I remember right, Victor-"

"That sad lunatic?"

"Yeah, him. If I remember right, he was eaten alive by that gas."

Aden considered it for a moment, "You're right… I know what you're getting at."

"The nanomachines carrying the original virus must override the later strains and kill it off."

"And when an entire body is literally infected and coursing with mutagen-"

"The nanomachines eat that body alive."

Aden's expression turned to amazement, "Brilliant! I think we've figured out how to kill off the infected."

"We make gas bombs and drop them at the infected. It'll leave nothing left."

"How didn't we think of this before?"

Rick clicked his tongue, "Probably because all the gas that existed was destroyed in the explosions of the science complex and the nuclear strike."

Aden sighed, "Damn. And we were so close to solving it."

"Something tells me that that stuff wasn't produced originally on Shephard's Island."

"What makes you think that?"

"Just a hunch. We need to find a cure first. Maybe we can reverse some of the effects on us."

"Hopefully. But curing you is going to take some preparation and surgery to get rid of your stasis while we cure you. I think the stasis is actually stimulating your immune system."

"What makes you say that?"

"Think about it. The scan said you're body's immune system was stupid powerful and that's what's keeping the virus at bay. When you get hurt, your immune system probably takes a hit too."

"And because it gets hurt with me, the virus is able to degenerate my mind more because of less resistance, right?"

"I think we got this figured out."

"I just don't understand, how did it end up this bad?"

Aden put a hand on Rick's shoulder, "Who knows? I'm surprised you've managed to make yourself into a circle of self-negating death. You're going to need some immune-boosters and those antibiotics to prevent more damage to your body. And don't worry; I'm not far off from you really."

"What are you talking about?"

Aden clicked his tongue, "I'm experiencing neural degradation too. Even Harris is getting it."

Rick's head quickly turned back to Aden, "Harris is infected?"

"Yeah… he's something else. The only reason he doesn't turn insane like all of those other half-infected is because of his congenital analgesia."

Rick smirked, "I always knew he had nerves of steel or, none at all actually. But how exactly does insensitivity to pain prevent his insanity?"

Sighing before going into the explanation, Aden began, "From what we've been seeing, the infection plays with the emotions and chemicals in the brains of whoever gets infected. When it comes to the fully infected, they're docile until they see humans, but that doesn't mean they won't attack each other."

"Why is it that they dislike humans so much?"

"We managed to actually capture one of the smarter ones once. We stuck him in front of a blackboard and he actually began to write."

Rick shook his head once before looking back at Aden, "Wait, _what_?"

"Yeah, he wrote English words too. He kept repeating words like 'Pain' and 'Hate'. He even wrote out 'Ungrateful bastards' and 'Cherish each other'."

Rick crossed his arms, "Okay, now that's bullshit."

Aden was getting more into the explanation now, "No, seriously, they're smarter than we thought. It looks like they're humans who can only experience certain emotions from their brains being hammered by the virus. When they aren't around humans, their brain calms down, but when they actually see one… they go into a fit of rage and adrenaline starts spiking in their blood. We did some tests, and whenever a human was presented in front of an infected individual, the pain receptors in the brain would go into some kind of frenzy."

"Goddamn… This doesn't look good."

"That's not all. We think that their memories are playing into this too."

"So they're consciously aware that they're infected and killing people?"

"Exactly. When they see a human, I'm assuming anger and jealousy become the prime emotions. That throws them into a frenzy because the emotional pain they feel is multiplied to the point where it goes way farther than physical pain."

"And by instinct, they try to kill what's causing them the greatest amount of pain."

"Right; humans."

Rick rubbed his cheek, "It's all making sense now."

"Also, half-infected go under a different name now."

"Finally. Saying 'half-infected' was getting annoying. What is it now?"

"Pseudomen."

"I'm assuming a combination of 'pseudo' and 'human'?"

"Bingo. They're susceptible to the insanity too."

"Don't have to remind me… So why aren't you insane?" Rick asked, giving his friend a look.

"Remember? I have the older strain."

"And it doesn't attack the brain?"

"Not that much. The nerves are starting to get weaker, but not by much."

Rick and Aden stood there for a few moments in silence as the conversation fully sank in. After about half a minute, Aden looked at Rick with a slight frown.

"Rick. What have you been doing here?"

"Hmm? Be specific."

"What kind of relationships have you been having with the locals?"

Rick heard the very subtle emphasis on "relationships", and forced a smile, "Well, the locals in Ponyville most likely hate me. That place Cantersmut or whatever it's called hasn't fully seen me yet."

Aden's frown grew, "That's not what I'm talking about."

Rick's smile widened, "Well, maybe you should be even more specific on what you're talking about."

Aden sighed in disgust, "Listen, they told me about what you've been doing. What you've done together, how they see you, how you see them, and what's been said between each of you." Aden exhaled, "Seriously though, Rick? You're fucking dating horses?"

Rick's smile turned into gritted teeth, "Do you have _a problem_ with that?"

Aden got closer, "Yeah, I do in fact have a problem with my friend having sex with a bunch of horses!"

Rick matched him and poked Aden's forehead, pushing him back, "Well, you can just get used to it, asshole!"

Aden threw his hands up into the air and let them fall to his sides dramatically, "What the fuck, Rick? Seriously, what the fuck? You're proud of yourself or something? You're proud of the fact that you want to be in a relationship with something that isn't even your species? How the fuck does that make sense? Huh? It doesn't!"

Rick shoved Aden, "Of course what I feel for them doesn't make sense! When does that kind of emotion ever make sense? Never!"

Aden returned the shove, "Yeah? And what emotion is that? 'Love'?"

Rick was about to push Aden again until he heard that word, to which he dropped his hands and looked back at the ponies staring at them, "Huh…" He turned back to Aden, "Yeah. I guess it's that."

Aden's face twisted into a mix of anger, disgust and annoyance, "No. That only exists between humans. Your brain must be fucked up to think that you love a goddamn horse…"

A scowl formed on Rick's face, "Why don't you just fuck off?"

Aden grunted, turned away, and muttered under his breath, "I didn't think you would lower your standards so much from Selene…"

With that comment, Rick quickly turned his head to Aden as his face contorted to one full of rage. Rick tackled Aden as he was turned around and slammed him face-first into the ground. With one quick motion, Rick held Aden down and pulled his arm behind his back, ready to break it off any moment.

Rick put his face close to the side of Aden's and snarled his words, "_What was that?_"

Aden was equally angered from Rick's sudden attack, "You heard me! The fuck is wrong with you? You resort to having sex with horses because Selene died? Move on, Ri-"

Rick proceeded to slam Aden's face into the stone floor repeatedly as some blood began pooling on the floor.

Aden gritted his teeth, "ENOUGH OF THIS SHIT!"

Rick's eyes widened for a moment as Aden's body grew in size. The suit he was wearing stretched with him as his muscles began to bulge and his physique grew. Rick was tossed off easily as Aden stood up. Rick instinctually took a stance as Aden took a few steps forward.

"You crossed the line, Rick!"

Rick's scowl deepened, "AND YOU DIDN'T? DON'T YOU DARE FUCKING TALK ABOUT SELENE!"

Aden tried smacking Rick away with his large fist, but Rick's quick-thinking coupled with his surging fury prevented him from being hit, "ASSHOLE! I LOST JUST AS MUCH AS YOU THAT DAY!"

Rick dodged another swing, "LIAR! I LOST MY WHOLE TEAM! MY SISTER! MY LOVER!"

Aden cocked his fist back for another punch, "SO DID I!"

Rick suddenly stopped, catching Aden's attention. Aden looked back at his raised fist and considered whether to keep it up or not, eventually deciding that it wasn't necessary anymore. They stared off for a moment before Rick broke the silence.

"What?"

Aden slowly shrunk in size as he cleared his throat, "You heard me. I lost a person I loved that day too."

Rick wasn't sure what Aden was talking about, but something told him that he really did, "Who?"

Aden sighed, letting his breath drag out, "Jenine."

Rick froze up, "No."

"Yeah… couldn't you tell? It was obvious…"

Rick sat down on a blockish stone, "Bu-but… no. That doesn't make sense. You guys only knew each other for a few days."

Aden sat on another stone across from him as the tension slowly dissipated, "Belgrade."

Rick immediately understood, "_What_? Don't tell me-"

Aden cut him off, "She was the medic for our squad."

Running a hand down his face, Rick let out a few sad laughs, "Wow… What happened?"

Aden began staring off absently as he retold the tale, "We were near the train station… I ended up getting right in the chest with a Resonator."

Rick winced at the memory of the same thing happening to him once. A high-powered automatic shotgun with the ability to deal out more damage than most can deal with before getting killed; the Resonator was a South-African weapon to be reckoned with. Luckily, Rick was able to survive the original shot being fired at him due to his support and heavily armored vest, but Aden most likely wasn't supplied the same way.

"How the hell did you survive that?"

Aden rubbed his upper chest delicately, "I was knocked to the ground and some of the pellets pierced my vest. Jenine shot the same guy in the head as he was about to finish me off. She managed to patch me up well enough for me to continue, with the help of drugs of course… But she saved my life. I'll never forget what she did for me, and after we were given leave, I asked her out."

Rick quickly calculated the time between then and Shephard's Island, "But that's three years."

"Yeah."

"You were going out for three years before Shephard's Island?" Rick crossed his arms, "Why wasn't I told about this?"

Aden shrugged, "I didn't even know about you until I met you."

Rick's arms fell as a frown came upon his face, "Jenine never mentioned me?"

"No. Then again, she never mentioned much about herself at all. But seriously Rick, how? How can you even feel that way about them? You're human, they're not…"

Rick grinned and put a hand on Aden's shoulder, "Listen, Aden, I know you aren't as fly as me, or don't have as much swag as me, but here's the thing: Fuck maintaining, because I gotta keep ballin'. Ya' get me?"

"…What?"

Rick's grin faded, "Try to understand this: I'm slowly starting to not care about this shit anymore."

"Can you be a bit more specific on what you're going on about right now? Are we talking about selling drugs or is-"

"I haven't sold since my dad died, why would I start again now and in a different world? Anyway, isn't obvious?"

"Not really."

Clearing his throat, Rick continued, "To quote Tyrone from some song I can't remember, 'My dick ran so deep, so deep it put her ass to sleep.' How about now?"

Aden didn't exactly react well, "That's… not a pleasant thought… Not at all. How that even works is beyond me."

Rick sighed, "I get her pussy wetter than a pool party? Does that make sense?"

"I'm pretty sure Tyrone said that too."

Rick chuckled, "Yeah, he did. What were we talking about again?"

"How you can stomach the idea of being in a relationship with something that isn't human."

"Oh, right. I'd appreciate you not criticizing me about this."

Aden crossed his arms again, "I'm not criticizing you, it just doesn't make sense. It's completely unnatural for a human to have feelings like _that_ for another creature. What exactly made you feel that for them?"

"Not natural? Feels real fuckin' natural to me. Moon is gorgeous and bad as fuck. Luna is just the cutest shit I've ever seen. They really are something special. Of course, I don't feel that way about any other of these ponies."

"Good to know, but you didn't answer my last question."

Rick shifted on the stone, "They… remind me of Selene. They're just too different from the rest of those ponies to be considered something you don't take a liking to. They have these human qualities that really make me wonder."

"Wonder about what exactly?"

"How far love can go."

Aden's eyes widened slightly, "_Love_? Seriously, Rick? You actually _love_ them? I-I don't understand how you can even compare them to Selene. She was human! Not-not some _horse_!"

Rick exhaled loudly, "Well, gee Aden, maybe my ability to rationalize is getting eaten away by a virus that should have killed me years ago and I'm as unstable as a crackhead that hasn't had his fix in a week?"

Aden simply chuckled, "Fine, fine. Do what you want. But if you end up with some kind of disease, don't come running to me."

"Too late for that, huh?"

They both laughed a little at that until Rick spoke out loud, "I know you heard that, you can come out now."

Aden raised a brow, but soon realized what he was talking about. From behind a large and toppled stone came out Nightmare Moon and Princess Luna. They're sheepish and surprised faces were pretty amusing and even he had to admit it was sort of cute. He was about to ask Rick how he noticed them despite how they hadn't made a sound or weren't even able to be seen from their position, right before Luna beat him to it.

She looked down and spoke with a smile, "I should have remembered you could do that, especially when you were able to detect Celly and Twilight."

Moon smirked with a mix of curiosity and deviousness, "Yes, how exactly are you able to do that? Is that something all humans can do?"

Rick stood up and stretched, "Nope. It's a developed skill that you pick up."

Aden scoffed while standing back up, "Oh, you're going on about this thing again. Tell me, how do you think it works again? A little bird telling you?"

Rick frowned, "I've mentioned this before. It's like a sixth sense and it took me years before I actually noticed it."

"A sixth sense, are you being serious? Well… it has been documented tha-"

Rick quickly cut in, "Anyway, it's just something that gives me an indication of certain things around me. I remember how I originally found out about it." Rick began to stare off reminiscently, "I was in Taiwan, and my intel told me a Chinese Eliminator was following me. Couldn't see him, so I assumed he had the same kind of cloaking device I've used here."

Luna waved a hoof quickly, "Excuse me, but how exactly do you see something that's invisible? You can't fight it if you can't see it."

Rick clicked his tongue, "That, that is where you're wrong. You see, a cloaking device, no matter who makes it or how, will give off an extremely faint hum. I've been in enough situations to learn how to actually hear that hum. So anyway, I walk over to the minibar in my hotel room, and I know this guy is here, but I'm not showing it. I grab a bottle of what I think was Scrumpy and leaned over the balcony."

Moon cut in, "Wouldn't that leave you in quite a bad position to defend yourself in?"

"Nope. He comes behind me, and right as he's about to probably reach around and slit my throat, I spin into a smack and break the bottle right in his fuckin' face! Oh man, the screams that guy made… Dumbass should've realized I heard him."

Aden sighed, "And then you threw him off the balcony, yeah, yeah, we've heard it before."

"Painted the streets red," Rick replied with a vacant stare. "Anyway, explain how the infection was started?"

Aden clasped his hands together, "Right. Nanomachines plus governments equals governments using nanomachines in their soldiers. And as it-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I'm pretty sure the U.N. explicitly stated that non-medical and non-civilian nanomachines were never supposed to be used in wars?"

"No self-respecting government official listens to the U.N. anymore," Aden said with a smirk.

"Oh yeah. Huh."

"Little did everyone know that that was the plan the entire time to actually spread the mutagenic virus. With half the world's soldiers using nanomachines, it was inevitable that every country would get hit when the nanomachines released the virus into the soldiers en masse and completely tore apart whatever was around them. That was a pretty clever way to start the beginning of the end of the world."

"So someone used nanomachines that were put into soldiers to spread the infection around? That's the most disgusting fucking thing you could do. They aren't meant to be used like that, not to be pawns just to spread something like this infection."

Aden shrugged, "What can we do now? Not much."

Sighing, Rick got back up as he began walking out of the room, "Yup, yup, yup. Gotta take a shower man, bad man dreams get you sweatin'."

Aden's head bobbed upwards slightly after considering what Rick just said, "Wait, you're telling me this old place has showers? Or even functional plumbing for that matter?"

Moon gave him an annoyed look, "Of course, do you think we're barbarians?"

"No, actually that title is reserved for Rick," Aden responded with a smile.

The frown became a smile as Moon turned to follow Rick, leaving Aden with Luna. The air around them soon turned awkward without some kind of buffer like Moon or Rick nearby.

Clearing his throat, Aden tried making conversation with the Princess Moon Goddess, "So… how long have you known Rick?"

* * *

><p>"Doo-doo-doo-doh-doh-dee-dah-doh-making that fuckin' cash flow."<p>

Rick was walking alongside Moon as he swiveled around upon reaching a door that led into a private washroom. Considering it now, he hadn't actually looked in any of the rooms other than the washroom, a broom closet, and the Atrium itself. Shrugging off the notion that something helpful might reside in any of the rooms, he shifted his eyes toward Nightmare Moon and smiled.

"You know, I've been meaning to ask something, but it hasn't come up for some reason."

Moon pressed a hoof into Rick's chest and pushed him into the washroom, closing the door, "Oh, and whatever question would that be?"

Rick's face went from somewhat cheerful to guiltily solemn, "I wanted to know, do you forgive me for hurting you? For breaking your horn and wings on the Moon?"

The look of shock on her face led him to believe that it might not have been a good idea to bring it up, "Of-of course I do! W-what would ever make you think otherwise?"

Internally, Rick smirked momentarily. Nightmare Moon was always calm, collected, strong, and intelligent. Seeing her surprised and stuttering her words was proof enough that he broke through that layer and eased into a more personal, and more vulnerable Mare of the Moon. The tenderness and faltering strength was always something Rick found adorable and when she did, he couldn't resist feeling himself fighting back some kind of nervous joy.

He stuffed his hands into his pockets, "Well… I'm assuming it probably hurt… a lot. Trixie told me that a unicorn's horn is highly sensitive to physical sensations."

Moon raised her head high and placed a hoof at her chest, "It wasn't painful in the le-" The disbelieving look on Rick's face forced her to stutter, "W-well, perhaps it was a small bit painf-" Rick crossed his arms, making her sigh and lower her head, "Fine, I shall admit it… It was painful. _Extremely painful_, in fact."

Rick placed a hand on her cheek, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"It isn't wise to bring up painful memories when much better ones can be made…"

"Yeah, but don't you think we should talk about it? So it doesn't need to come up later? I don't think we should hide anything between us, even if it does hurt to say it. I don't want our memories to relate back to pain; because it doesn't need to if we just talk about it with each other. Would you mind another question?"

Moon's face slowly went back to its normal shade, "Ask away, Dear."

Rick looked at the shape on her head, "If I touched your horn, what would happen?"

Those little signs that the conversation took a whole different direction, such as Moon freezing up, her face turning beet red, and becoming nearly expressionless, forced Rick to raise a brow and truly consider what a horn meant. The look he was getting from Moon gave him the idea it amounted to a reproductive organ on the outside, which when he considered what to compare that to with a human, left him a bit unnerved. It was either the equivalent of a penis or a clitoris. He hoped it was the latter, and the fact that Moon was female insisted that it most likely was.

"W-What? I apologize, I didn't quite hear you?"

Rick smirked and took the opportunity to mess with her, provided his intuition on what the horn amounted to in human standards was true.

He put his face close to her ear and whispered, "I said," he cupped his index finger and thumb on the tip of the horn, "if I touch your horn," he slowly began rubbing it between his fingers, "what would happen?"

Moon barely heard what Rick has said to her due to her sharp gasp and the thoughts invading her mind. She wasn't particularly used to a stallion, or a human for that matter, to take control of the situation _like that_. It was usually something reserved for her, and she would always take just a little bit of pleasure in seeing a unicorn's legs wobble and nearly give out like a newborn foal just from horn stimulation. But this was different, far different from any previous experiences. None had over touched her there, and a human had assumed control over her body without even realizing it or the results of that dominance.

With a few simple rubs and a twisting motion, the mighty Nightmare Moon was reduced to a shaky legged mare. She nearly cursed herself for being off guard to allow such a thing to happen, but the immediate reminder of who was doing it stopped her before she was able to continue that thought when it was passed through by the pleasure flowing down from her horn and quaking its way straight through the rest of her body. Moon felt a build-up from the erotic act run through her and knew her climax would be soon. She surprised herself by realizing that; Moon always felt like _she_ was the one who could last the longest. Right as she was nearing the last few rubs that would throw her over the edge and "release" herself, it suddenly stopped. Moon was barely able to open her eyes in her bliss-addled daze to question why the lack of finishing her off.

"W-why di-did you s-stop?"

That all she able to make out before she took a sharp breath and felt the pain from her teeth digging into her bottom lip mix with a heightened sense of sex-fueled indulgence. Something wet, warm, and rough was now snaking its way around her horn. In her near delirious state, she wasn't able to connect together what it was before it began to twirl around towards the tip, forcing her legs to wobble uncontrollably as her build-up was reaching its limit. Her back legs gave out completely, forcing her onto her haunches with her tongue out and panting heavily. A slick, clear substance was leaking unceremoniously from between her legs and onto the tiled washroom floor, forcing her to blush harder at her own embarrassing reaction to the stimulation.

As her climax began to approach, her horn began to react by charging itself with magic, giving off a dark blue glow as the aura covered it brilliantly. She cringed in pleasure when she felt something tight puckered around the tip of her horn and that other object makes swirls around it rapidly. Moon's eyes shut tight like a vice as she shuddered from the climax, completely losing control of her body and releasing the pent-up magic out of her horn. After being drained of the pure and somewhat slimy magic, she collapsed to the floor panting heavily and in utter bliss.

A voice she could barely register complained about something, "Oh. Wow. This is gross."

Nightmare Moon was barely able to open her eyes enough to see Rick standing over her looking at himself in a nearby mirror, the front end of his body plastered with a dark blue, thick and gooey magic that didn't sit all that well with him. His abdomen all the way to his hair was covered in the stuff as it slid down his body sluggishly. If he didn't need that shower before, he'd definitely need it now.

"I-I'm sorry… I j-just couldn't help myself when you did that…"

Rick stopped gazing into the mirror and looked down at Moon. The way she was lying on the floor in her own juices (he, however, was standing and covered in them) out of breath, and so apologetic made him smile at her from his stance above her. Something about the scene made him feel better, and aroused at the idea he just made one of the most powerful creatures on the planet climax with the ferocity of an earthquake. Rick couldn't suppress a chuckle at that thought and crouched down by Moon.

'Damn, now she's just plain fucking cute, isn't she? From being the baddest to the wettest, what a way things tend to work out.'

Rick wiped a clump of sticky magical ooze off of his face, "Uhh, nice shot… I think." He cringed as he wiped some off of his tongue, "I take it you liked that?"

Moon attempted to nod, but her head slumped back down against the floor almost immediately.

He chuckled in response, "Well, don't tell anyone about what I just did, I don't want people getting the wrong idea about me and pointy things that aren't supposed to go into mouths. That would be one _weird _ass problem if that ever got out." Rick lifted her head by the chin, "Are you okay though? You seem a bit tired."

A hoof managed to make its way to his arm as their eyes connected, "It was _far_ better than 'okay'." She looked away for a moment in embarrassment, "I-I've never felt _that_ before… It was so… _amazing_."

That comment went straight to Rick's head as he smirked, "Well, I am _that amazing_, after all."

Moon slowly began to regain all of her senses, "Ooooh, that was quite the experience… Where did you learn to do something like _that_? It was divine!"

"I didn't?" Rick shrugged.

Moon looked back into Rick's eyes for a moment before turning away again, "I-I have a request... if you don't mind, that is…"

He raised a brow, "A request? Anything for m'lady." Rick began to stroke her mane, "So, what is it exactly you would like me to do, Miss Mare of the Moon?"

Her face seemed to get redder from the name, "P-please Dear, there's no reason to be so formal with th-"

Of course, Rick cut her off there, "Ah-ah-ah," He smiled and brought her face close to his, "a girl like you deserves to be treated with the utmost respect and that includes any services you may require of me. How can I serve you today?"

Still recovering from earlier, a weak smile formed on Nightmare Moon's face, "Well… I'd like you to service me in a special way…"

Rick smiled dumbly; completely aware of what he was getting himself into.

* * *

><p>Awww shit! Nightmare Moon just moneyshotted Rick at point blank! Well, that ending was intensely weird and even weirder to write. Still, I think I executed it a bit well for something I said I'd never really do. Then again, it was completely one sided, at least, for <em>this<em> chapter it was. Hmm, what could that mean?

Well, there really isn't much to say about this chapter. Hope some things were explained, but knowing my writing, more questions probably surfaced than buried. I honestly can't help doing that for some reason or another. But no matter how much shit I put in, I'm going to try my best to tie it all together. There are definitely a lot of things that were referenced, pointed out, or mentioned that don't seem to make a big deal in the story yet, but I want to convey the idea that at every moment in the story, there are other things happening that _aren't_ centered around Rick/Company. For example, as Rick's doing whatever the hell he's doing, Tobias is trying to make sure something close to him stays safe from his current employer. On Earth, a certain person is trying to prevent Long Island from being overrun by those mutants everyone loves so much. Hopefully everything will come full circle at the end.

Anyways, I'm debating on whether or not there should be some of this so-called "clop" next chapter. I'm not experienced in the least in the department of sensual writing, and I even recall stating that I wouldn't ever do it. But things change, right? I've already stuck that little part at the end of this chapter, but I can easily avoid the sex by going a more comedic route or just blotting it out or some shit. So what I'm saying is this: You the reader decide on what happens. My question is: Should there be a cloppening next chapter or no? Leave it in a review or go to the poll on my page so I can get an idea. The only real reason I'm holding myself from writing it is because I feel that some readers may find it degrades the value of the story. Then again, some might think it would make it better (looking at a specific beta-reader). But do a good deed today and give me some feedback there, ight?

So, as it turns out, this chapter took well over a month. Why? I got too distracted with bullshit to actually gather the motivation to write any more. But hopefully that won't be a problem anymore.

Another thing, if you've read Lucius Seneca's stories, In Medias Res, you'll see two chapters that include Rick and Twilight. Both me and him collabed together there, but it occurs a bit later in my story (few chapters, actually). Honestly, you guys got to read ALL of his stories, including Venia and Into the Abyss. Read, review, and bask in the glow of great writing. Also, we're currently tinkering away with the idea of collabing together on a story _seperate_ from our own. What will become of it? Hopefully something that you all will enjoy, if we can get past the planning stages that is. Will it involve humans? But of course! Will they be transported there mysteriously via portals and other magic wizard bullshittery? Nope, something better than that. Here's hoping to us getting it off the ground.

Now I know these are your favorite part of these dreaded "Author's Notes", but I shall present to you "Review Responses", in **TECHNICOLOR**. Note, it is actually in the only color we are provided with, black. But seeing as though I've been inactive for who knows how long and I really want to end and upload this, I'm only going to bother with the first two pages of reviews. Sorry if you got cut, etc. etc..

nobodyreallyimportant - Acid trip? No, no, no, we only take microdots here. Which is... ACTUALLY LSD! Whoa! ACID TRIP!

Ponyman130 - Right, let me explain something real quick. The Reconstruction Chamber is _not_ supposed to be some kind of wonder-cure-all. All it does is prevent a permanent death and bring the person who was killed back into the Chamber to be put back together. Thing is, the Chamber was never designed to be used as often as Rick's been dying. A month between deaths would be the minimum, but he's already screwed that part over. The result of that carelessness is his body won't reconstruct properly, giving him only a partially remade form. His skin wasn't bonded well with him and the reason his eye was fucked up was because a Chamber requires all original body parts to be present in order to be used to full effectiveness. He essentially got a "fake" eye substitute that didn't work so well. But he has his original now, so nothing to worry about there. Hopefully that answered a few questions.

RainbowDashWasHere - I don't know how I got this story past 200k words, but I somehow did it. It's a bit too excessive in my opinion though, but then again, this fic is very dialogue centered when it comes to information on what's happening. I feel as though I'm much better at writing dialogue than anything else, but I just hope it doesn't detract from the story. Also, I should probably speed things up a bit, it feels like it's dragging on.

Dylan Boggs - Interesting...

Shadowfire117 - Good news, STALKER 2 is still being worked on! It is a great relief and maybe we'll get a trailer or some shit soon.

DeadPony - I honestly don't have that much in relation to Rick or anything in this story for that matter. It's all fictional and hypothetical imagination that got put on E pills. Also, just to clarify, Rick (the character) and Rick R (the author name) were blatant references to one of my favorite rappers, Rick Ross. It really should have been obvious, but maybe it really wasn't. The story is not a fantasy-power-tripping-self-insert, it's just something that I pieced together by slapping interesting ideas against each other and seeing what stuck. I took things that I thought were interesting and made for good reading and put them there for enjoyment, not because I wish I was in the shoes of some made up character. I mean, you can see it however way you want, but it really isn't.

avatoa - I'm ridding the story of Tyrone the mantis because he was just a bad idea on my part. The powers aren't going to be removed, they're going to be nerfed with serious drawbacks on Rick's physical and mental health from the start. It's supposed to be something he uses when he's left with no other option because of how badly it could damage him.

BlasianAsian - Thanks for the good, because it feels good. With the big ass parts, that's just something I can't help doing most of the time. I overdo a chapter and it may get too large. I don't want to waste all of that writing however, so it usually stays that way. There's a reason Tobias isn't appearing, but it won't be explained properly (spoilers and shit) until later. About John (pony with a shotgun), he's what I consider a humanized pony. Not in the sense he's literally become one, but he's given up his poniness in favor of taking more human traits that allow him a better chance of surviving on Earth. Anyway, I realize there's a massive load of shit that needs renovation severely, but I thank you for point everything out, giving me the criticism and especially for the compliments. Wish I could get reviews like yours more often. Also, I doubt I'll ever pursue writing past these little stories, but who knows, maybe I can write medical horror thrillers when I'm a doctor and lose all of my patients who would think I'm crazy. Here's hoping?

Jayswing103 - I was originally planning on Rick committing suicide right as he was released by Nightmare Moon in that chapter, but I decided against it after I remembered how much I wrote him as hating it when he did it himself.

PISSED OFF MOTHAFUCKA WHO GOT A GAT - Ask and ye' shall receive. Now put away that gun, this is a safe place.

I think I've covered everything here, but I most likely didn't. Leave a review, vote in the poll, and enjoy life my friends. Also, this may be a shot in the dark and completely undeserved, but would anyone possibly consider making some kind of art for this fic? I know it probably doesn't deserve it, but who knows? Maybe someone actually likes the fic enough to draw something. Welp, hope you have a nice whatever the hell time it is. This had been Stillmatic, your deliveryman of mediocre writing, saying "Good Night, and Good Luck."

As always, Stay Trilla.


	22. Chapter 22

**Stasis**

**Chapter 22: Two-For-One Special**

**By: Stillmatic**

* * *

><p>Trixie finally finished her training for the day and decided to retire to the Atrium. The cool air of an Everfree night soothed her aching body, letting her relax from the stress of pushing her own magical limits. Even she had to admit that her ability was getting better recently, thanks to the assistance Nightmare Moon provided every now and then. Rick had been right about hard work, it was rewarding her well and the value of it seemed to increase in time.<p>

Trotting through the doors to the Atrium, Trixie spied Princess Luna speaking to the other human she had met earlier who supposedly had been friends with Rick for quite a while. She personally didn't trust him at first, but he seemed to be able to fix Rick up without any mishaps. Trixie stashed her thank-you for later in her mind; she needed time to get some relaxation. Trying not to drag her hooves, Trixie tiredly sat near the human, the Princess and the fire pit; close to falling asleep from exhaustion. They glanced at her for a moment before continuing their conversation.

Trixie prevented herself from falling to sleep in order to fulfill her greatest, _current _desire. She desperately wanted a bath to wash away all of the sweat accumulated from her training, and sleeping beforehand simply wouldn't do. A yawn crept from her throat and exited her mouth, catching the attention of her associates while she steadily stood up. Blinking a few times, she used a hoof to rub her eyes and made her way around the fire pit.

"I'm… going to go take a bath…" Was all Trixie managed to mumble out as she departed down a series of hallways.

Aden and Luna shrugged at each other and continued their conversation.

"So Princess, how has your country been viewing our Rick?"

Luna smiled, "Please, call me Luna. As to how the public views Rick… Rumors are everywhere nearby, but only very few ponies have actually seen him firsthand. In fact, the only time he appeared in Canterlot, only a few guards, doctors, nurses and awoken citizens were able to see him before he mysteriously disappeared. I can't say for sure how Ponyville sees him, however… From what I hear, he saved a mailmare by the name of 'Ditzy Doo' from a Cerberus."

Aden gave her a disbelieving look, "A Cerberus? Those are real here?"

"Oh yes, and they have quite the temper. In fact, one almost ate the mailmare I've already mentioned."

"So what happened?"

Luna put a hoof to her chin in thought, "If I recall correctly, Rick had reported to the Elements that he killed the Cerberus by throwing a shoe at it."

Aden stared at her, "By… throwing a shoe at it? How does that kill a mythical beast?"

Luna smiled sheepishly as she realized her mistake, "Oh, I'm sorry; I may have worded that wrong. Rick had thrown a shoe at it to _distract _it."

"Ahh, and then he ran away, right? With the pony?"

Luna shuffled her hooves, "Not exactly… Our guards inspected the body after finding it and came to the conclusion that one of the necks suffered a horrible misalignment leading to respiratory failure and unconscious. It of course died in time."

Aden shook his head and sighed, "Only he would do something so childish."

Luna couldn't help feeling curious at that statement, "'Childish'?"

"An agent doesn't snap necks unless he literally has no other choice. It's far too sloppy and unnecessary when a person can simply choke out their target, slit their throat, or garrote them."

"I… didn't know you two were so meticulous about how you kill…" Luna managed out while recoiling slightly.

Aden sighed, "We can't afford to mess up. Messing up costs us our lives, someone else's lives, or possibly even both, and we can't have that."

Luna forced a nod, "I understand… Rick has told us about his past experiences in excellent detail."

Aden mentally made a note to punch Rick in the gut for spilling secrets, as well as spreading around a dirty truth to clean and innocent creatures like the ponies he's encountered.

"Did he ever tell you about Sele-"

Luna cut him off quickly, "I don't think we should be talking about that, not without Rick present."

Aden reluctantly nodded, "Alright then. Princess, there's something I need to know that's important to me."

Luna looked towards Aden, wondering what she would know that he would want, "Yes?"

Aden seemed to have trouble finding the proper words, "Uh… Well, you see, the thing is- Oh, how do I put this… Hmm… Uh, well, to put it plainly, Rick is a good friend of mine."

Luna cocked her head to the side in confusion, "I'm already well aware of that, Aden."

He quickly got back on track, "He's really one of the few people I still trust… We've been through a lot by each other's side and stuff… We've lived together, lost our loves together… We've both relied on each other a lot and what I've been seeing lately from him is… weird…"

Luna caught on after a moment of considering what he said, making her a tad annoyed, "You don't like our relationship, is that it?" She huffed, "I thought his supposed 'best friend' would at least respect his decision and still accept him after all they've been through together!"

Aden shook his head and stopped speaking for a moment, "…That's not what I'm talking about. Did I ever tell you how Rick was after Shephard's Island?" She shook her head, "Do you want to hear how Rick was after Shephard's Island?" She nodded. Aden paused for a moment, "It isn't pretty…"

* * *

><p><em>The lighting of the room was bleak, with the only light coming in was from a small lamp on a side table. Rick was seated in a thick, leather office chair, slumped heavily. His skin was uncharacteristically pale and had receded slightly back into his face. He hadn't moved in quite a while, staring at the wall across from him for what had almost been days on end. Every now and then, he'd move and visit the restroom, not only to make use of the toilet, but to vomit up whatever little amount of food he'd consumed along with the copious amounts of alcohol he ingested without break. Half empty bottles of various liquors and used needles littered the floor, and more had yet to have been used or drunk yet.<em>

_Rick's right hand slowly reached down and pulled up one of the various bottles to drink from. He shook it for a moment, but when nothing came out, he threw it to a far wall, smashing it and fumbled for another. Everything from the hardest alcohols to nastiest of narcotics became the norm at this point in his life. Anyone who insisted on Rick getting help or even trying to help him themselves were rudely threatened in a drunken manner, but with all the seriousness required to get even the most stubborn of coworkers to back off in either fear or lack of willingness to continue their original cause. Most were significantly surprised by the fact he showed absolutely no major respiratory problems from the mixing of alcohol and heroin, which turned out to be his own twisted miracle that became the bane of his efforts. What he hadn't managed to realize was the fact the very small amounts of heroin he gave himself didn't stack well with the liquor. No one said anything, however, as it was for the best for him to be ignorant of higher doses. _

_The last bottle he managed to finish after hours of being completely wasted and barely high on an easy-to-prepare yellowish substance happened to be a blended variant of a cheap scotch. He didn't really care what it was he drank at this point as long as it made some part of the mental pain to go away. There still wasn't any true relief though, and despite the fact it had been nearly a year since the deaths of his closest friends, his girlfriend, and sister, nothing could quite dull the pain anymore. Even he knew at this point his tolerance to heroin was getting stronger, despite the abnormally small (for an addict) doses. _

_His nearly complete regression from being a responsible and independent person plowed its way through to Rick's self-control and stomped it to death in metal cleats. Of course, it didn't go unnoticed at all. He occasionally participated on a mission, usually every other month at this point and his inactivity along with all the substances was taking its toll on his body. There wasn't much time left before he would most likely be decommissioned without any sort of honor and silenced in one way or another. Still, his higher-ups wouldn't let potential go to waste and had granted him leniency, which was wearing very thin at the time. It was for the best that one other person was willing to tell Rick what he needed to hear in order to finally pick himself back up and climb the ladder once more as an agent, no matter how painful it was to hear._

_Aden stepped through the door, holding a bag of Chinese food in one hand. It was beginning to become more than a chore for him to bring Rick food every day, and to make sure he ate it. Aden liked Rick a lot as a friend, but a man could only take so much of one depressing person before practically losing his mind. Despite that, Aden continued to look after Rick during his breaks, where he brought him food and a friend to talk with. Of course, Rick didn't talk much, unless Aden said something to provoke him. _

_Walking into the room, Aden spied Rick using rubber tubing to restrict the blood flow in his arms, the reason infuriating him. Every single time Aden walked in on Rick's disgusting habit of mainlining or prepping heroin, he would talk his friend's ear off until something happened. It usually ended up with Rick passing out into a drunken or drugged unconsciousness before Aden could fully convince him to stop what he was doing. In fact, the way Rick seemed to just fall asleep whenever Aden was lecturing gave him the suspicion that Rick might have somehow trained himself to fall into a slumber on command, with little to no relaxation needed. It was grating on his nerves, but he couldn't do much. Supposedly, Rick was originally an extremely light sleeper, up until recently where he could stay asleep through even the loudest disturbances. _

_Aden stepped by Rick and yanked the needle from his hand, "Enough of this Rick. You need to give up on this stuff or it'll kill you. You're better than this."_

_Rick glared at Aden and grabbed a bottle of scotch, "Better than nothin'… If I was good, I'd…"_

_He stopped there, and held the bottle to his mouth. Rick ignored the burning of the whisky going down his throat and pulled the bottle away. He lazily wiped the excess liquid off of his mouth with his right arm._

_Aden flushed the needle down the toilet and returned to his friend, "Rick, You need to stop this. You can't keep beating yourself up over this. Nothing that happened was your fault."_

"_O-Of course it was my fault! It's a-all my fault! None… of them survived… at all! My… fault…my…"_

_Aden shook his head in pity, "Do you think they'd like to see you like this? A fucking deadbeat? No man, they'd want you to get your life back together and start living it again."_

_Rick stumbled upwards from his chair and poked Aden while scowling harshly, "You! You-You don't know shit! I… You… didn't even know them! That was… only your second mission with us…" He gave another jab, "So don't fuckin' think you know what they'd want, you-you-you fuckhead!"_

_He fell back onto the chair and held his throbbing head in his hands. The pulsating aftermath of all the alcohol intake was doing far too good a job at destabilizing what little patience Rick had for whatever was in front of him. That "whatever" happened to be Aden, and so it was decided within the confines of Rick's tormented mind to rid himself of the "whatever" that only metastasized his head pain. The formerly respectable human sloppily stood up again, this time pulling his right arm back. Aden, of course, saw this and knew what his comrade was planning on doing._

_Rick lunged forward slightly with his punch, but completely missed the more agile Aden. Rick grunted in spite, his pain only increasing from the situation, and began to throw punches randomly. Aden ducked, dodged, and weaved between each of the slow and undisciplined attacks somewhat effortlessly. He had to admit to himself that Rick was dangerous in most situations, even if he was intoxicated to the point most men would pass out. The engineer could only imagine what horrendous damage his friend did to his own liver with all of that alcohol._

_Aden was snapped out of his thoughts by Rick's voice, "Stand still shitface! I-I'm going to beat you sens-sensele-"_

_Rick wasn't given the opportunity to finish that sentence, most likely due to the fact he was punched in the gut by Aden. He tilted his head to the side and vomited onto the richly-colored mahogany floor, staining it a dirtier hue and with a foul-smelling odor. The agent sat on his haunches, ignoring the other person in the room and trying to control his breathing. Aden turned away and leaned forward on the window on the opposite end of the room. The sun was just beginning to rise in New York City, and the large ball of gas had just passed over the artificial horizons that were the high-rise skyscrapers. _

"_You know, I think they'd be more than sad. To see you like this… It's pathetic. They'd be angry. You fell Rick, you fell so far that I'm not even sure you can get back up anymore. That's the worst part of this… I heard the stories about you, the way you've nearly died so many times only to somehow win in the end… What's so different now..? We all lose the things we keep close to us, but that doesn't mean we can just stop, sit down and die where we are. Is _that_ what you're going to do, Rick? Just grow bitter and cold to everyone around you? Please… it isn't worth it. You gotta stop all of this and get back up. If not for me, for them; if not for them, for yourself. If you need me, I'll be waiting."_

_Aden gave one last look to the broken man in front of him. He clicked his tongue and exited the far too depressing room shaking his head. With a slam of the door, he was in a narrow hallway beside a man with his back pressed against the wall. The visitor wiped his hands, a habit he picked up in the operating room, and tucked the crimson red handkerchief back into his grey suit's breast pocket. Looking back at Aden now, he stared expectantly. _

_Aden shrugged, "I- I just can't get through to him."_

"_Aden…" the man sternly crossed his arms in minute disappointment. _

"_Listen, let him sit it out for a little, maybe he'll come around."_

"_You know az vell az I do, your friend vill not change vithout help."_

_Aden began to press himself against the wall opposite, "Yeah, I know, but the stubborn bastard doesn't want help."_

_As if on cue, sounds of struggle along with breaking objects began to emanate from inside the room Aden just exited. From what both men could hear, Rick must've been trashing about wildly, yelling incoherently, and just destroying everything in his path. The two men traded uneasy looks before the black-haired, ex-physician began to walk away. He raised a hand as he departed to signal a goodbye._

"_In anozer life, Aden. Tell me vhen your friend, how you zay, 'picks himself back up'?"_

_Aden smiled, "Yeah, I'll do that. I'll keep in contact."_

_With that, Aden turned his attention to the door behind him that swung open, whereupon a fist forcefully grabbed him and pulled him in. He grabbed at the arm of Rick and tried to shake him off, but despite the lack of nutrition, Rick seemed to still have some strength to him. Slamming Aden into the wall, Rick looked him dead in the eyes and uttered the few words that the engineer wanted to hear._

"_Get me into detox. NOW."_

_Aden, while caught completely off-guard by the fact that Rick was willing to listen, nodded without hesitation. With that, Rick dropped Aden back onto his feet and sat back down in the chair, exhausted._

_Rick waved a hand while laying back, "Let's… get some real fuckin' nice steaks first… With potatoes… and grilled asparagus… and some buttered lobster… and-and wine! Yeah…"_

_Aden pulled Rick upwards and swung his arm over his shoulder to give his friend more support while walking, "Sure, let's get you some decent clothes, a shower, maybe some toothpaste…"_

"_Asshole…" Rick muttered while glancing back at Aden shortly._

_For a moment, it was quiet. As they walked towards another room, Rick looked back at Aden and felt true appreciation for him. Despite the childish and self-destructive way Rick was acting, Aden still stayed by his side when everyone else was scared away. He saw a bit of everyone in his blonde friend, and while he couldn't actually say that he profited from the Shephard's Island debacle a few months back, he at least gained something to offset the massive loss he felt. There, next to him, was probably the last true friend he thought he would make, and for the fact he at least had someone with him, he was grateful. Rick considered how badly his speech stung, how it dug salt into fresh wounds, and why Aden said such penetratingly powerful words. He came to the realization that Aden was in fact right in what he said, and Rick was glad that someone who genuinely cared about him was willing to say it._

_Aden noticed Rick's staring, "What's wrong? I got something on my face?"_

_Rick hung his head and chuckled, "Nah man, just thanks… for everything."_

_Smiling warmly, Aden walked Rick through the doorway to his room, "Don't worry about it. Hey, that's what friends are for, right?"_

_Rick pulled his arm back from Aden's shoulder and attempted to stand. Wobbly at first, he set his feet in place and began to grab some clothing from his dresser. Pulling it open, he rifled through it for something basic. What he came upon after moving some shirts, however, stopped him immediately. Rick gave a bittersweet smile to the photo before him. It was the same photo of his entire team together, right before Shephard's Island. Each of those people died somehow, with the exception of Aden of course. Still, Rick died along with his friends that day, but finally felt himself come back to life, if not slowly pushing away the rot at first._

_Despite his shattered heart telling him otherwise, Rick knew it wasn't time to sit down and die. That was never to be an option again. He pulled the photo up and stared at it for a good, long time before he noticed something drip onto it. There was a slight shock to him when he realized it was a rogue tear from himself that landed on the physical memory. He smiled, knowing that there was still reason to live on._

"_Yeah, with friends like these… like you… you won't ever need anything else…"_

_Aden, who was examining a bullet hole in the backboard of the bed, turned to his muttering friend, "Hmm? What was that?"_

_Rick wiped his eyes and set the photo down on the dresser before turning to Aden, "I said, gimme half an hour to get ready… gotta look nice, ya' know?"_

_Catching on, Aden started to walk out of the room, "Yeah, I understand. Just don't take too long, you hear? I'll go make some reservations and clean up the place a bit from the damage you did, okay?"_

_Before Aden walked out, he was roughly grabbed again and pulled into a vice-like hug. Still somewhat surprised by the fact Rick even had a semblance of energy left to him, Aden blinked. This was somewhat uncomfortable for him, but he returned the hug regardless. After a moment, Rick spoke._

"_Really man, thanks… for everything you've done for me."_

_Aden patted him on the back, "It was nothing. Just being a good friend."_

_They each pulled back and went their separate ways for the time being. Without any other words, the hardest part of their friendship was surpassed, and normalcy slowly returned to the lives of the agent and the engineer. Be that as it may, Rick was fully aware of what horrors were in store for him now that he was a lone agent. His superiors now knew he had a taste of euthanizing and murdering civilians under orders. While he wasn't certain as to why they gave him the first-hand experience in the first place, Rick definitely knew that there was more to come. As much as he wanted to avoid that, he knew he had to continue his job. Still, he would persevere against the crimes against humanity that he would undoubtedly commit and fight to keep himself from falling into depression again. The current moment was breathtaking for him, even when the harsh reality of the future was still present in his mind. But like many people, he chose to live in the moment and enjoy his time as much as he could while it was still possible. For the first time in months, he'd actually felt happy._

* * *

><p>"… And that's pretty much what happened then."<p>

Aden didn't look all that remorseful or sad of the story he just told, but once he looked over to Luna, he immediately felt that it was a mistake to tell her. She used a hoof to wipe some tears that fogged up her eyesight and sniffled. Holding back any emotions for now, Aden simply kicked back and relaxed while humming a tune. Luna's gaze fell upon him, and the nonchalant demeanor to the human seemed odd, but somewhat annoying all the same. She was of course thankful for him giving insight into the friendly relationship between himself and Rick, but the way he seemed to dismiss the memory as water-under-the-bridge nagged at her. According to Aden, this had occurred roughly one and a half decades ago, four or so months after this so-called "operation" Rick had attended.

Thinking about that amount of time, along with how long Rick had been gone from his own Earth, Luna realized just how many years Aden had possibly been alone and without anyone around him. His current state seemed fine as is, but she could only wonder what a decade without the creature you grew close to and survived with felt like. Admittedly, she had been trapped on the Moon for a thousand years, but there was absolutely no time to consider things like loneliness when the avatar of all that is evil is hunting you down, waiting for your death. Luna shuddered at the memories of the back-and-forth attacks her and Nightmare Moon committed against each other. Evasiveness became a trait that was highly-valued on the rocky terrain of the Moon, and it had served Luna well up until this recent year.

'Still… these are humans, not immortal alicorns… They must only have so many years to be with each other before they pass on.'

Luna looked back at Aden, who hadn't shifted positions at all since he finished the story. The Princess sat up and trotted slowly to Aden, and as he looked at her to see what she was up to, she nuzzled him on the cheek. She nearly giggled at the bewildered look across his face, as if nopony had ever nuzzled him before. Maybe humans don't actually do such a thing? She pushed that thought away, considering it unimportant.

"Uhh, Princess? I don't really know about customs here, so… what exactly are you doing to me?"

Luna blushed and back away, not realizing she had been nuzzling him for at least a minute, "Humans don't do such a thing?"

Aden smiled lightly, "As far as I know, no. Usually, humans would kiss each other. Why? You guys don't do that here?"

Luna shook her head, "No, ponies do kiss, but nuzzling is something you would to somepony you care about."

He smirked in response, "So you care about me, Princess?"

"Of course! You've done a great thing for me!" The odd look she received prodded her to explain, "You see… if it weren't for you, I wouldn't have met Rick. That and you've helped him so much, are excellent friends with him, despite you two and your fist-fights, and were willing to share something so personal with me. So Aden, yes, I do care about you. You matter a great deal to Rick, and what matters to him, matters to me as well."

Despite being touched by her words, Aden was still pestered about the relationship between Rick and two ponies, "Princess, I have to ask, what is it you see in him? I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but you're a _princess_. Shouldn't you be with nobility or a royal figure from another country?"

For a moment, Aden had sounded like Celestia to Luna. She smiled regardless and tried her best to explain, despite how incredibly awkward the conversation would most likely be.

"Well- I- I'm sorry, I can't accurately explain it with words… What he is _is_ what I love so much about him. He's passionate about what he believes in, he's loyal, strong… well-muscled… handsom-"

"Princess? This is my friend, I'd rather not hear about _that stuff_."

She blushed, "Y-Yes, of course not. To put it simply, there's something about him that just makes me feel…" Luna stopped there and contemplated her answer for a few seconds, "not so lonely anymore… Protected… It's nice to have someone who's so willing to sacrifice themselves for you, especially if they aren't under orders to. Rick saved my life, _thrice_. He allowed himself to be eaten alive in my place, and it was my entire fault…"

Luna didn't speak and stared at the stone floor after that, prompting Aden to consider the whole "eaten-alive" thing she mentioned, "Princess?"

She lifted her head towards him, "Yes?"

"What exactly did you mean by 'eaten-alive'?"

Her face near-instantly took a solemn and regretful look, "He…"

Aden cocked an eyebrow at her lack of willingness, "Yes?"

Luna sighed in defeat and began to spill the details, much to her own remorsefulness, "When we were in that city, I sneaked out of his home and followed him while he escorted a stallion to transportation. He was near furious when I found them, but he still protected me regardless. After an attack by these creatures, I attempted to stop him from killing the last one. I-I just couldn't let that poor creature, the last of its family, be murdered…" she looked back at Aden, tears welling up in her eyes that she desperately fought against, "But he was right! It _was_ trying to kill me! He stomped on its head and crushed the poor thing into little bits! It was absolutely nauseating… We continued until we came across a door that allowed us access to where we wanted to go, but it seemed to be locked. Rick used his thingy to open up the door, but we were attacked again… That's when John was knocked unconscious and Rick fought that horrific creature by himself… It spoke fluently… as if it was just a normal pony… but what it did was despicable…"

Aden's interest piqued there, and he nearly spoke like a giddy child to learn more about his friend's exploits in modern, disease-ridden America, "So what happened?"

Luna began to sob quietly, running a hoof on her snout, "He-he did it! For me! He didn't need to, but he did anyway! Why?"

The ex-engineer began to feel quite guilty about what he had done. Here was a princess, but more importantly, a young mare (in his mind, a woman), who was openly sobbing over his friend's actions. What could Rick have done that would have made a princess of all things to fall for him? While he had heard from his co-workers that Rick was quite the charmer, he also picked up bits and pieces that said he'd given up on love altogether. And yet this mare, who Rick supposedly only known for over a month, had fallen in love with him; sharing a mutual attraction with Rick that seemed quite binding.

Aden recalled Jenine and her heroic act to save him. He could never pull off the emotionlessness that Rick so easily kept, and the flood of heart-throbbingly painful and pleasant memories came back to him. His face began faltering ever so slightly as first, and within a short amount of time, nearly crumbled completely. The distorted and utterly downcast frown that etched itself across his face seemed permanently stuck there, a testament to the love he lost. The enormous amount of regret directed at his own carelessness to fall unconscious during that operation was far too great a weight for a man such as himself. Blame laid its crippled form directly on the blonde, pressing itself against him forever as a symbol of his own weakness. In his eyes, the only one at fault was himself, and it was _him_ that caused Jenine's untimely death. Completing that thought, his eyes began to slowly water along with his nose dampening.

His mind turned to Rick, and he immediately began to wonder how he ever managed to pull himself out of the abysmal depression he fell into. Despite Aden's help, he hadn't actually expected Rick to ever recover from the traumatizing experience of losing all that were close to him that day. Aden was far more blessed in the fact that he had only lost his love, while his companion's entire "family" was wiped out in a single day. Even after returning back to New York City, life still decided to take a deep, searing stab at his best friend. On arrival, Rick was in no good mood, and the heart-wrenching business aspect of his debriefing only hurt him more. But what had occurred only minutes later was what truly set in place Rick's path of self-destruction. Aden's mind slowly imagined the immense pain, shock and disbelief Rick had felt at the time of coming across Selene's corpse.

Rick was supposedly something of a "player", at least in the sense that the only thing he cared about was usually a one-night stand and sex. Aden recalled the time Billy explained how Rick never was, for as long as he'd known him, one to keep a relationship lasting longer than two weeks. While how Rick actually met Selene was still a mystery to him, there must have been something there, something so enticing and alluring, that Rick was more than happy enough to give up his lifestyle in order to pursue a proper relationship. But to even consider that the very woman that had changed his life was murdered, on the same day he had lost his entire team no less, was absolutely and maniacally depressing, with severe tones of sadness and self-hatred. On all accounts, Rick's mind had been lost for quite a while before there was life in it again, but something seemed to happen while Rick was on his own in this strange land. Aden, happy for his friend, wiped his eyes as he thought about his friend's new quest of love.

Aden turned his attention back to Luna, who was now gently crying silently and practically crumpled over in her state. His eyes gleamed with an odd sense of joy as he took in her appearance. This mare who he had only known for this past day was playing one of two pivotal roles in Rick's overall health and well-being. She, along with Nightmare Moon, was able to break Rick out of his layers of protection and return him to his original state. They were akin to saviors of his closest friend, and for that, he truly appreciated them. Aden wrapped his arms around Luna and pulled her close into a hug. She protested at first, due to surprise, but quickly settled down and rested her head on his shoulder. Silence established its dominance for a good few minutes before Aden pulled back just enough to look Luna face-to-face.

"Thank you. For everything you've done for him. I- I really don't know what to say… He really matters a lot to me, and to be frank, he's all I have left… But you've kept him safe, and even made him his old self again… So thank you, so much… You don't need to continue, let's just drop it."

Luna reached her right hoof around Aden's neck and pulled him back for the hug, nuzzling his cheek as she did so. Quickly, she gave a light peck on his ivory cheek before settling back onto his shoulder. Aden felt himself heat up a little, but quickly dismissed it as a friendly gesture.

"Princess… Rick would break in every single one of my teeth if he saw you doing that."

The Princess giggled in response, "Don't worry Aden, we'll keep it between us."

He sighed lightly, "Thank you."

Princess Luna pulled back to look at her brand new friend, "What are friends for?"

A genuine and broad smile made its way onto his face, signaling his approval. Maybe Rick had been right, maybe he really did find love in those two. Whatever it was, Aden wouldn't disturb it anymore, he was satisfied with the experience he just had.

* * *

><p>Trixie, still feeling sweaty and aching, slowly stepped to the one of the many washrooms in the castle. There had been many more, but she was a pony of habit; and this specific washroom being the first one she found, she naturally visited only it when she needed to. After a string of seconds and steps later, she breathed a sigh of relief upon reaching the door. Her ears cocked upright suddenly at muffled sounds from behind the door. Her eyes widened in a mix of childish fear and shock at the sensual and utterly provocative moans coming from the washroom. Trixie blinked and shook her head of the thoughts, thinking they were simply in her head from too much exertion on her part. As she reached for the doorknob with her hoof, another moan spilled out longingly and full of desire. She attempted to swallow, but found her throat had run dry in her moment of need. Her breathing slowly became more apparent as nervousness crept into every fiber of her being. Trixie slowly twisted the bronze knob and pushed in the door. What she saw was so traumatizing (an unwarranted assumption, though) that she immediately shut the door in front of her. The vocalizations stopped, with the exception of a few sounds of longing and frustration emanating from somewhere within the room. Trixie jumped in fear and slumped to the floor to creep away when a voice yelled out to her.<p>

"TRIXIE! DAMN'T! GET YOUR ASS BACK IN HERE!"

She was left dumbfounded at the demand. Was Rick honestly ordering her to come and join in on _that_? Trixie began to get jittery and even more nervous now that Rick was willing to yell at her intrusion. Reluctantly, she opened the door once again, this time greeted with Rick and Nightmare Moon in the same position as before.

Moon was lying on two bright yellow towels on the tiled floors of the washroom, with Rick straddled onto her back, kneading his fingers into it. Trixie immediately blushed, now realizing that she had been mistaken in her jumpy conclusion to what they were doing. Embarrassed, she began to hoof at the floor while staring at it, as if it were going to save her from such an awkward moment. Rick, staring at Trixie but still massaging Nightmare Moon, looked over his little equine friend. She'd obviously been training, and by the looks of it, pretty hard. Pride swelled into Rick, making him just a bit happier that his words had influenced the magician positively. He glanced back at Moon, who was left in the exact way she was when he began, practically putty under his fingers. It seemed as though fingers could do what hooves couldn't and very well at that.

Looking back at Trixie now, Rick gave a small smile, "Shower?"

Trixie nodded in response, her throat still too dry to speak.

He chuckled and leaned down towards Moon's ear, which perked up against his warm breath, "Hey, let's take this into another room, okay? Let Trixie enjoy a bath or something. She deserves it."

Moon nodded, but spoke some indecipherable question into Rick's ear.

His eyes widened in shock, "Hell no!"

Her pleading eyes didn't affect him in the least and neither did her whining, "She's so adorable! I'm sure she'd enjoy it with us!"

Rick removed himself from Moon, but bent down to rub his fingers around her wings and between feathers, forcing them to spring out almost instantly. It seemed that every few minutes, he'd find something that would excite the body of a pony, specifically an alicorn. The horn and wings were extremely sensitive to touch, among other areas he hadn't ventured to yet. She let out a moan before standing upwards and giving Rick a frustrated look.

Despite that, she smiled at him, "Oh, what am I going to do with you?"

"I can think of a few thin-"

They turned their heads to Trixie, who cleared her throat. She pointed her horn out the door, exactly where they should take their relations, where it wasn't in front of her. Rick gave a wicked smile and instead picked up Trixie.

She flailed her legs and hooves uselessly, "Riiiiccck! Stop it! Put me down this instant!"

Rick, of course, didn't heed her request and set her down outside of the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She hit the door once and walked away with a huff, disappointed at the turnout of what had happened. Grumbling to herself, she slowly trotted back to the Atrium.

* * *

><p><strong>Stillmatic here<strong>, ready to tell you that the following part and all others are explicit in nature and only a mature audience should be reading such things. I take no responsibility for any bodily injuries from your overly aggressive horniness, etc., etc. Remember, this is my first time writing something like this, so don't expect something incredibly amazing (despite what I may have said somewhere else). If you do not like this sort of thing, then wait for the next chapter if you would. The rest of this chapter is mostly clop material, so if you're offended by such things, I'd recommend you ignore the rest of said chapter and chillax with some Xanax. This is fairly long, so be prepared, because it isn't just centered around clop, but some other things as well. I tried not to break the mood, and hopefully I didn't. Hope you enjoy it, because it was pretty weird to write, I'll tell you that much. Still kinda liked it, though. So prepare for… _**The Cloppening!**_

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><p>Rick cackled evilly to himself at his actions, satisfied and happy at the fact that he and Moon were now alone. As Rick turned away from the door with a grin, he was forced against it by Moon. She pushed his body back with her own, kissing him forcefully. He in turn kissed back with just as much force. Moon pulled away from him as soon as he did that.<p>

She shook her head with a sly smile, "Ah-ah-ah, no resisting."

Her horn lit up, giving Rick the idea of what was about to happen. He was almost entirely covered in a dark blue magic, save for his neck up. Despite knowing that it was going to happen, Rick began to struggle against her magic, with her easily winning and claiming victory. Nightmare Moon pulled him away from the door and into the air, where he was hanging comfortably as she trotted around him slowly, taking in his features. Rick laughed to himself quietly, catching Moon's attention and a displeased look.

He looked back at her, "What?"

"That," she pointed to Rick.

"Me?"

"No."

"What then?"

She smirked, "The clothing."

Rick's eyes opened in understanding, "Ah. Here… just let me go and I'll take it all off…"

He felt the grip tighten, forcing him to let out a low groan. Rick stared back at Moon, who was clearly enjoying this far too much.

Moon smiled back at him, "Something wrong, Dear?"

"Well…" the belt on Rick's jeans began to unbuckle itself, "that…" the jeans were now unbuttoned, "and that…" his shirt was pulled off of his chest, "let's not forget that…"

Moon stopped and pulled Rick's face down her level, "Oh, I'm sure you'll be fine."

Rick rolled his eyes, "I don't know, I-"

He was quickly cut off by Moon's mouth, which began to merge with his. She was easily dominating the situation and held control over Rick as she used what he had taught her earlier. Forcing her tongue into his mouth and breaking past the teeth, Moon began a small-scale war with her lover. Sensation was the weapon of choice for both sides, but Rick had managed to use it more effectively, eliciting moans from Moon. She pulled away, not yet ready to start anything serious yet. A trail of saliva was the only physical proof of their little escapade, and Moon sought to get rid of it. Using her tongue again, she lowered it to where the saliva was at its lowest, lifted it up, and pressed her lips against Rick again, effectively returning it.

She pulled away, "Let's make things more interesting, shall we?"

He gave her a look, "More interesting than this?"

The jet black alicorn shed her armor and moved to the man's ear, "Much more."

Pleased with the shudder emanating from Rick, Moon began to kiss the area closest to her, his neck.

His eyes widened in shock, "D-Damn't Moon! Th-that's something that guys do to ch-chicks! No-Not the other way aro-o-oound!"

Despite his protests, Moon continued to kiss his neck, working her way downwards to the shoulders, then chest. With each kiss, she felt his resolve weakening and his body becoming tenser from arousal. She nearly grinned with the way he reacted when she kissed a long scar across his upper-right chest. His body jerked, giving her a pleasant feeling of accomplishment. Still, he was resisting her, most likely because he would try to hold out until he was free and return the favor to Moon. She wasn't going to allow that _just yet_, opting instead to have some more fun with his body.

With each little kiss and peck on his body, Rick felt his pants tighten uncomfortably. He was able to look down at his erection, which Moon was getting dangerously close to as she lowered down to above his hips. His mind nearly ceased thinking when she stopped at his jeans and looked up at him with an utterly seductive smile. Rick attempted to swallow, only to find that his throat had dried up, much like Trixie's had. She took the failed action well and lifted Rick just a foot higher. Using her teeth, Nightmare Moon unzipped his jeans and yanked them down with more force than necessary.

"Oh… oh my."

Rick bit his bottom lip and glanced down to Moon. She stood still, staring at his erection from through his boxers. It protruded excitedly, more than eager to break out and receive affection from the female in front of it. After giving another look that nearly made him attempt to break free again, she placed her teeth on the garment. Rick felt an incredible fear grip him, at the sudden danger of the situation.

'Oh fuck! What if she bites my dick by mistake?'

Putting Rick's fears to rest, Moon gently tugged downwards, letting the boxers fall to the floor. He breathed a sigh of relief, but Moon simply chortled at him.

"I apologize, but we aren't done yet. In fact…" she moved her mouth above his penis, breathing onto it, "I think I may keep you all night…"

The erection grew against Rick's better judgment, with his penis getting harder and harder from Moon's hot breath. His body was already tense to the point of his muscles beginning to ache; Moon began to use her front-right hoof to gently caress his testicles. He let out a low moan, slowly losing the resistance against the alicorn's efforts. True to Trixie's words, the hoof's magic felt as if actual fingers began to massage them, except these left a remarkably distinct tingling feeling to his body.

Rick looked back down and what he saw made him smile smugly. The other hoof Nightmare Moon wasn't using was near her slit. There was a bit of light reflecting off of the small puddle below it, indicating that she too was already deeply aroused. His thoughts were cut short when he felt something warm and wet lap around his penis.

Moon heard another grunt come from above. She rested her tongue under the head of Rick's cock and looked back up at him. The pleading look in his eyes instantly put a cheery smile onto her face. Rick groaned in response, just attempting to survive as long as possible against Moon's sexual onslaught. The rough surface of her tongue worked its way around the head, running all along the edge before resting back underneath.

The dark alicorn was becoming increasingly frustrated from his resistance, wanting him to just let it go already, but she knew what he was up to. This was just as much of a game to him as it was to her, and she had assumed she had the advantage simply because she was the seductress in this case. Had she known why her lover was so good at holding out, she would have fixed the problem. But still ignorant of that reason, she became determined to get him to cum, willingly or not.

Nightmare Moon began to slowly take in the length of the penis in front of her, savoring the moment. Through her magic, she felt Rick's legs give a failed buck for a moment, not able to move due to his restraints. Her tongue extended out from underneath the penis, massaging it as it passed over before it stuck out between her lips. Right as she was about to hit the back of her throat, the entirety of the member made itself at home inside of the tight quarters. With her tongue still sticking out, she gave a careless lap at his scrotum, earning another spasm from him. Had she not had a full mouth, she would have smirked.

She looked back up, but couldn't find his face when it leaned back from what he was feeling. Using her magic to gently push his head forward, she giggled at the sight of his face. It was truly a look she could relish in, and it made her, one of the most powerful creatures on the planet, happy. The alicorn began to pull her mouth back, getting a sigh of relief from Rick. That, of course, would simply not do and would be fixed appropriately. As she reached back to her lips, she shoved the cock back into her mouth, getting a sharp gasp from Rick. That single sound was more than enough for her to continue, and continue she did until her jaw began to ache from the self-inflicted punishment.

A few minutes passed and Moon had still been trying to get Rick to cum. Despite all of her tricks, he had somehow held out. The moans she received should have been indication otherwise, but even that seemed to lie about the situation. She began to quicken her pace, pushing and pulling her head back and forth, respectively. With one last movement, she pulled her mouth off of his penis, letting the hard member stand out in the air, sticky and moist from the saliva it was caked in. Moon gasped for air before looking back at Rick, obviously displeased.

With a "humph", Moon subconsciously began to rub her lower lips as she stared at Rick, "Why haven't you released yet?"

Rick was planning on shrugging with a smirk, but wasn't able to do so because of the powerful magic that covered his body, "Well, I think the reason is pretty obvious, but I think it's beca-"

She silenced him, "Enough! Must I do this another way?"

Rick, with his lips magically sealed, nodded and attempted to speak, albeit somewhat unrecognizably, "Hudda, hudda, hudda."

With his tenseness slowly decreasing, Rick watched Moon lay him onto the towels from earlier. Getting on top of him and getting as close as possible, she began to rub his dick against her pussy. She bit her lip to stifle a moan, knowing that the hot, throbbing, and now reddish area was just as eager to have a friend as his. The alicorn felt the breathing of Rick increase in speed and she suddenly stopped. Despite him not being able to speak, the look in his eyes was more than enough to tell her what he wanted to do. But her being the pony she was, she wanted to prolong the encounter as much as possible. The magical zipper over the human's mouth faded into nothing, but she pressed her hoof onto it instead.

"Now, are you ready to serve me some more?"

She removed his hoof and he gave a sloppy grin, "But of course, m'lady. I'll serve you in any way you wish."

The alicorn's skin began to heat up from the words, "P-Please, let us continue, shall we?"

With his nod as confirmation, she got up and turned around, moving into the sixty-nine position. While his penis was becoming somewhat flaccid due to the minute or so of speaking, she quickly restored it to its former glory. Moon gasped sharply when she felt the warm tongue run around her lower lips, teasing it splendidly. It traced the labia numerous times before dipping inside slowly. She shuddered as the tongue began to lightly penetrate her, taking its time and easing its way in. The pony bit down on her lip when she felt Rick rubbing at her clitoris with his fingers, taking it into his grasp and causing it to swell. Moon let out a moan, but soon refocused on her task at hand. Plunging his penis back into her throat, she gave him some, as Rick would say, "brain."

This position went on for a few minutes longer, until it was broken off by Moon standing up. Her cheeks were flushed and she was breathing heavily from the little "interaction" she was experiencing. The living goddess looked back at Rick, who was smirking victoriously. She nearly shouted at his smugness, but kept her mouth shut in order to keep him from feeling more dominant. She glared at him; somehow, the man knew she was getting close, yet also knew she wasn't making any serious progress on him. She could feel him moan when his mouth was so close to her, but that didn't give any indication of him finally cumming. Something didn't add up properly, but this alicorn wasn't one to give up so easily. The next step would surely sort out his resistance appropriately and establish her as the winner of this battle of the bodies.

"Something wrong?"

Nightmare Moon could feel the cocky grin, despite not actually looking at him. She was snapped out of her thoughts and stared at him, ready to finally get him to give her what she wanted. No, not his sperm, but his inhuman resistance. How he managed to pull it off so well was mindboggling, but now wasn't the time to bother considering such things. Every second that passed by was another wasted. However, it was time to do a check on herself. The inspection was quick and to the point, revealing that she was already beyond wet between the legs, and her pussy was flaring with heat. The alicorn sighed mentally, embarrassed and already knowing her chances of victory were substantially slimmer than she'd originally thought. Moon flipped around once more and planted her groin against Rick's, earning a smile from him.

Rick managed to cup his hands through her magical mane (as it turned out, the magic tightened the tenser she got) and used it as a makeshift pillow while he teased her, "'bout ready to give in, yet?"

She traced her hoof down his chest, "N-Not just yet. I still have a few tricks up my wings."

He raised a brow at the odd word usage, but shrugged nonetheless, "You sure? You're looking awfully… hot there."

Moon pressed her face against his, glaring into his eyes, "I'm fine! You on the other hoof; You're not going to be so fine!"

The agent smirked, "Is that so?"

"Indeed it is!"

With that, Moon began to gyrate her hips, rubbing her slit against his penis. It twitched, happy from the attention it was receiving from the female. She was sure that her next idea would finally settle this, and she soon put it into action. Using a hoof, she stopped and shifted the member up, towards a maw that was begging to be filled. Some of her own juices were dripping onto his penis, and it reacted with more spasms. The clear liquid shone in the light of the room, and as she lowered herself, it was joined by more of the slickness. Rick bit down on his lip, all while Moon let out a whimper as he penetrated further.

Nightmare Moon leaned in close and whispered into his ears, "Do you think you're ready for this?"

Rick blinked, "Well, actually-"

He was cut off when she pressed her mouth to his and began to move him in and out of herself. Letting her do most of the work for now, mostly because he was still magically held from the chest down, Rick placed his hands on her flanks and grabbed onto them, eliciting another moan from his lover. He began to move with her, getting into sync with her through his thrusts. The two kept moving, each slapping against the others body in a sex-fuelled pleasure. Such pleasure led to a lack of concentration for Moon, and her magical hold over Rick dissipated quickly. He took the opportunity to turn the tables and flip her onto her back, much to her surprise. Taking over, he began to penetrate deeper and quicker, forcing the alicorn to moan into his ear.

She gasped at the sudden turn of events, "W-What are you doing? I h-had it under c-control!"

The agent didn't respond however, and the only sound he seemed to make were grunts as he humped against her faster. Sweat dripped off of his brow and onto her chest, staining her dark coat. Moon heard a growl of frustration come from him, giving her the idea to pull him in close. After wrapping her hind legs around his back and clasping her forelegs around his neck, the alicorn tightened her embrace, feeling herself coming close to the brink. Her partner began to thrust harder and faster, plunging his member into her pussy and rubbing it against her inside walls without remorse.

Moon bit down on his shoulder, trying desperately to withhold the scream that wanted to escape her as she orgasmed, spilling out her own cum onto the towels and soaking them. And yet, Rick didn't stop for at least another half a minute, at which point Moon was too exhausted to hold onto him any longer. As she released him, he rolled over next her and laid there, his face surprisingly stoic and emotionless. Her blushing face and heavy breathing didn't stop her from grabbing his hand with her hoof and turning her head towards the human however.

Despite her trying to catch her breath, the surprisingly observant Moon frowned, "What's… wrong?"

Rick didn't respond for a few moments, taking his time as he pondered his answer, "… Moon, I don't want to lie to you, but I don't want to tell you the truth either…"

Her breathing slowly returned to normal, "Wh-What are you talking about?" An awful thought dawned on her as she gave a hurt look to her partner. She sniffed, "I-I… I wasn't good enough… was I..? I'm sorry, maybe…maybe I shouldn't have forced myself onto-"

Rick held her face and pulled her in for a kiss, holding it for a moment before pulling away, "Stop that. You were great- no, the best. Any guy would be beyond lucky to have you, and I sure as hell don't deserve you. It's just that…"

Moon placed a hoof on his shoulder pleadingly, "Please, tell me… I want to make this right."

He looked away, "I-I don't think either of us could… You know how I'm infected with that virus, right?" She nodded. "Well, you see… neural degeneration is a symptom and all feeling will wear off the body after a few years…"

"And you've been exposed for quite a few years…" she mumbled in understanding, "That whole time?" he nodded. "Even during our time together for all those weeks?"

Rick sighed, feeling disgusted with himself, "I may have… faked it… I didn't want to ruin the moment for you, and you deserve a good moment for yourself."

"We _both_ deserve a moment for _ourselves_, darling," she said with a smile.

"I'm sorry Moon, I probably should have told you, it's just that, well…" he strained trying to find his next few words, "I-I just didn't want to feel inadequate for you. You deserve better, so I have to make sure you have the best from me to compensate."

She kissed him on the forehead, "You don't need to do anything of the sort for me, ever. All I want is you, with me, together." The jet-black alicorn considered an idea, "But you weren't able to feel any pleasure? At all?"

He shook his head, "I could feel as much as my body allowed me to feel, and it was just continuous. I felt no release, like I was a bomb that couldn't explode. It was… unpleasant."

Moon rolled off of her back and sat on her haunches while Rick crossed his legs, "We could try something… something that may help both of us,"

Rick stared skeptically at her, "What could help me with this?"

"Magic," she grinned, "Medical magic is something I'm quite adept at, if I do say so myself."

"You're a neurosurgeon?"

"Well not exactly, but how do you think I healed myself when you-"

Not wanting to think about that memory, Rick quickly cut her off, "You can fix me being nerve-dead? How does that even work?"

She nodded, "Quiet easily, actually. All it requires is injecting a thin layer of magic into your body, and molding it to your nervous system."

"But a nervous system is extremely complex and pretty damn small."

"Don't you trust me?" she sighed.

He smiled, "Of course I do. You can go ahead and try. Do I need to stand up?"

Moon nodded and he did so, almost losing his balance in the process. Her horn began to glow its regular dark blue color before a small amount of magic came out from within. It began to twist and squirm before it became a wire-frame human shape. He cocked an eyebrow, not realizing she meant an actual mold. The magic pressed against his body and seeped through his skin. As his nerves began to come back to full functionality, a searing pain was shooting through his body, leaving him barely able to stand. As quickly as it had come, the pain subsided, leaving Rick with his hands on his knees taking deep breaths while staring at the floor in an attempt to calm his racing heart.

His right knee nearly gave out when a mouth wrapped itself around his shaft again, with her tongue tracing the head once again. Rick looked down to find Moon blowing him eagerly, and he soon realized her intent again. The feeling in his body became multiplied to what he assumed what it was originally, and that was something that she took advantage of. Her revenge of swift slurps and strokes took affect quickly, making Rick's legs buckle, much to her pleasure. Not one to go out without a fight, he used one hand to stroke her horn and the other to rub the tip. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he realized how incredibly odd this would have looked to anyone who came through the door. And yet, he didn't care all that much.

Moon was beginning to moan against his shaft, letting him feel the ripple of her throat. He grunted and gripped her horn as he came inside her mouth. She pulled back immediately and let the thick spurts of hot seed shoot onto her face. Rick exhaled and let go of her horn, letting his arms fall to his sides. His eyes slowly looked down at Moon, who had an accomplished, yet smug, look across her face that just sang, "Na-na! I win!" He was about to respond until something caught his eye. A few chortles eventually evolved into full-blown laughter as Rick wiped a tear from his eye. Moon frowned and looked around, finding nothing that seemed to promote laughter.

She crossed her forelegs in frustration, "What? _What?_ What is it?"

"Your hair!" Rick spouted while still laughing.

"… My hair?"

Moon used a hoof to move her flowing hair so she was able to see it. Some of his semen was in her hair, but other than that being a nuisance to clean later, nothing seemed funny at all.

"You don't get it?"

She looked back up to her lover, unsure of what he was talking about, "No? What exactly was I supposed to get that made you laugh so?"

"Ever hear of the Big Bang theory?"

"Who do you think came up with the idea?" Moon said while raising her head in pride.

"You?" She nodded, "Huh. Well, you know about the singularity then?"

"What does this have to do with you ejaculating on my hair?"

"You have stars in your hair."

"… And?"

"I impregnated the singularity in your hair, and stars were born. Simple. We Big Banged."

She cocked her head to the side, "How was that funny?"

He rolled his eyes, "Knew you wouldn't get it. Speaking of which," he narrowed his eyes, "that's really creepy. No, I'm serious, I came on your space hair stuff and the cum became more of those little twinkling stars."

Expecting _this_ little factoid to be a joke, Moon used her hoof to push her hair in front of herself again, this time observing several new stars that sparkled in her hair.

"But-but how? I-that doesn't make sense!"

Rick reached a hand out and helped Moon back onto her hooves, "Need help getting it out? Perhaps a shower?"

She nodded and followed him towards the nearby shower. The agent pulled back the curtain and let her in before putting it back where it was. The fairly large shower featured sprayers running up the walls and met with the largest at the ceiling to allow for a full-body wash. The alicorn hugged the wall as Rick turned on the shower, letting the water turn from chilly to pleasantly warm. He stood in the cold water and let it run down his body before noticing the odd look from Nightmare Moon.

"What?"

"Does the water not chill you? It's surely freezing!"

He chuckled and turned to her, "I spent over four months in a Siberian prison camp with Tyrone and Billy. All there was around there was cold, so I sort of got used to it. Besides, it's kind of liberating."

She nodded but remained at her spot, avoiding the cold water. It soon heated up, becoming fairly warm and just enough so to make the room steam up. Moon made her way to Rick and nuzzled his neck affectionately, content with her experiences with him so far. He began to stroke her ethereal mane, running his hands through it and clearing it of anything of his. The alicorn closed her eyes, basking in the massage and letting the human work his fingers around her body. She had to admit, those appendages were quite useful and more practical at what hooves couldn't properly do. Blushing, Moon remembered how she figured that out just not too long ago and how spectacular it was to feel those things rub against her.

Her mind began to wander and think of various things that she had seen and done these past two months. It really was quite an odd series of events now that she considered it, but there was no reason to regret it either. Her original plan of destroying Princess Luna failed miserably, but that wasn't something to really consider when one was hurt beyond words. She barely had the strength to escape Rick during that whole debacle, but something about him triggered a dormant feeling inside of her. Never had anypony been so cruel and brutish to her, and yet, she noticed the restraint there. He _allowed_ her to escape, for whatever reason.

After narrowly surviving the ordeal, her thoughts turned to the creature that spoke to her. She did in fact spy on him, something that Aden had told her that triggers a more aggressive mindset from the agent. Assuming that that was why he attacked her, she began to think about who or what he was. Nightmare Moon felt slightly gracious that he let her get away to recover, and because of that, he was on her mind from then on in. Slowly but surely, she began to feel the first signs of attraction towards him, and despite her brain telling her to do otherwise, she accepted it.

Then there was Luna, the goody-goody Princess that had taken part of her man's heart as well. Of course, Moon didn't mind that so much, mostly because back in her day, harems were something of a somewhat common practice. But somewhere in her mind, she felt like Rick hadn't considered it that way. Despite how much she tried to figure his thoughts there, it remained ambiguous and hard to understand. He was, however, the buffer that prevented the two alicorns from fighting. The sole reason she had come to accept Luna was because Rick had taken a fancy to her as well. She had to admit though; Moon could plainly see what it was that he had saw in her. Those eyes, that slender, elegant body… She shook her head, realizing what she was thinking. Admittedly, the smaller, blue Princess wasn't all that bad, but that wasn't something she was going to mention anytime soon.

"You still there?"

Rick waved his hand in front of Moon, wondering if she was still conscious or just not paying attention.

Her eyelids fluttered open, "Hmm?"

"Ah, thought I lost you for a second there," he said while eying her over.

The sight was a bit more than entrancing to look at, and he stopped for a minute to take in her beauty. Her once flowing mane was soaked and fell to the side of her head, covering one part of her face. The entirety of the pitch-black coat was wet, with each droplet glistening lightly as they slid off of her body. A lofty happiness clouded her half-open eyes with a playful smile a bit beneath it. Rick was left without many words to speak at what he saw, with the exception of a certain one.

"Damn…"

Moon placed a hoof on his chest and looked up to meet his eyes, "What seems to be the problem?"

"I-I- Uh…" He ran the back of his gently against her cheek, "It's just that… well, you're gorgeous."

"Oh, stop," she said, her face turning red from the compliment.

Rick clasped her face with his hands, "How can I?"

He brought her face to his and kissed her, sharing their mouths with each other. The simple gesture became more sensual as Rick's tongue began to wrestle with hers, vying for dominance of the situation. Moon pushed him back without breaking contact and pinned him against a wall before pulling away her face from his.

Her gleaming eyes quickly disarmed all resistance, "Let me pay you back for all those nights… with interest."

She slowly worked her way down his body, doing exactly what she knew would mess with him the most, kissing certain areas. From his neck down to his waist, the alicorn gave light pecks before coming to a stop. Using a hoof, she gently began to massage his dick, using the innate magic to grab and pump it. Rick exhaled and kept a hand at the wall to prevent himself from falling from the mass amounts of pleasure running through his body. Suddenly, something grabbed onto his member, forcing him to grunt and let a knee buckle. Something unlike anything he had ever felt before was stroking him, as if hundreds of tiny little feelers and nubs were rubbing against his penis at once. He looked down to see Moon's horn glowing, along with a dark blue aura around his dick. A moan escaped his lips, with the pressure mounting quickly from the incredible act Moon was performing on him. In his short time of experiencing the magic of this world, he never would have expected it to feel so pleasurable against his body.

The stroking became faster and faster, gripping his rock-hard member and sending ripples through his body. Moon, knowing he was close, quickened the pace and closed her eyes until she felt him release on her face, plastering it with his white, hot seed. What he saw next stunned him, leaving him without words once again. Moon lapped up the excess sperm off of her face using her tongue, tasting the saltiness and ignoring his look. At that single moment, it was confirmed in Rick's head; she was keeper.

"Heh," he rubbed the back of his head with his hand nervously, "thanks, but I think we both need to shower again."

The alicorn smiled after finishing her small snack, "You'll hear no arguments from me, but may we retire to a bed afterwards?"

"Of course, after all, I'm getting pretty damn tired from all of this… fun," he nodded.

With that, the two quickly began to wash and dry each other off, bonding together more than they realized.

* * *

><p>Trixie sighed, letting the harsh training and the extremely disturbing scene she just saw out of her body. It was engrained on her soul, but the built-up soreness and the mental clot began to feel less hampering as she walked through the halls and towards the Atrium. She spotted Princess Luna giving the other human, Aden a peck on the cheek and hugging him warmly. The sight was confusing at first, but the magician assumed she had missed something in the amount of time it took to get to the washroom and back. Grumbling at the fresh memory of Rick kicking her out of the bathroom when she so desperately wanted a shower, Trixie walked up to the two and sat back down by the fire, this time waiting until those two foals would be done with whatever it was they were doing. Her huffing caught the attention of the two other occupants, but it was Princess Luna who decided to ask what was on the young mare's mind.<p>

"Trixie?"

The unicorn raised her head and looked towards the alicorn, "Hmm?"

"What seems to be the matter?"

Trixie opened her mouth to speak, but immediately shut it as the memory of what she saw forced a blush onto her face. Luna caught on and gave the fellow pony a motherly look.

"Trixie? What happened?" the Princess asked with a hint of curiosity.

"N-Nothing!"

"Trixie…"

Aden chuckled, "You might as well just spill it, what's the worst that can happen?"

Giving out a frustrated sigh, Trixie began her story, "It was Rick and Moon."

Luna frowned, "What is this about them?"

Aden sat up, "Yeah, I'd actually like to hear this too, if you don't mind."

"Well, I sort of… walked in on them, maybe?" the nervous smile on Trixie's face just oozed awkwardness, giving the two others an idea of what it was that she had walked in on.

Luna stood upwards quickly and yelled, "WHAT? Where? Where are they? What were they doing?"

Trixie seemed to get smaller and smaller from the aggressiveness of the Princess, "I-I-They were at the washroom! T-They were-"

Before she could finish that, Luna began to immediately gallop in the direction of the washrooms, with her memories from over a thousand years ago serving as her guide. Trixie looked to Aden, who was also giving her an expectant look.

"What exactly did you see when you walked in?"

Trixie frowned, knowing that this conversation was going to be nowhere near comfortable to discuss.

* * *

><p>Princess Luna halted her gallop at the washroom and held her ear to it, trying to hear anything at all from inside. Other than a certain moistness in the air, there didn't seem to be anything out of place. She turned the brass knob and opened the door, letting the humid air hit her and eliciting a shiver from her body. Stepping inside, Luna looked over the large washroom. There were a few signs of something going on, but almost all indications pointed to just a shower taking place; things like used towels and bottles of bath essentials were tossed around carelessly. Then, a smell made contact with her muzzle, forcing the wings on her sides to spring outwards and a deep blush to cover her face. That alluring musk that wafted around, one she was slightly familiar with, began to cloud her thoughts. It was certain, they had been here and obviously doing more than cleaning themselves.<p>

Luna shook her head, trying to regain control of herself and push away the sensual thoughts that invaded her mind. Yet as much as she tried, it was almost exciting to think that the creature she loved had overcame any insecurities over a such petty things that held him back from a proper relationship. If Nightmare Moon could get him to agree, Princess Luna would have no problem, surely. However, they weren't inside the room and she hadn't seen them on the way here either. There were bedrooms nearby, and the idea that they had left to sleep seemed to be the most plausible, also due to the fact that it was quite late in the night already. It was decided, she would seek him out and while he was still recovering from whatever it was they were… doing, Luna would speak to him and-

Luna whiffed the air, taking in the scent for a moment. She shuddered again, and began to feel an intense heat somewhere on her body. No, she wouldn't speak to him, at least, not with words. Still, she was near certain he would have no objections. The Princess caught herself biting her bottom lip in anticipation. But even if he did have any objections, she, being the royalty she was, wouldn't heed it anyway. After all, a Princess's word was rule, was it not?

* * *

><p>The air was warm in the dark of the room, and yet, Rick couldn't allow sleep to come to him and instead lay there, thinking. He caught himself thinking quite a lot recently, and his mind always turned back to three things in specific: Nightmare Moon, Princess Luna, and Earth. Each held a significant place in his heart, but the first two seemed to matter the most. They were equals, with neither toppling the other in terms of ranking, but for whatever reason, it didn't seem wrong for him to be with both. Sure, polygamy was still illegal in the United States, but there was something else to this situation. Something that was in front of him, but something he couldn't see or make out. Those two alicorns that constantly weighed his mind down with fluttering thoughts of passion and love were something else entirely, and yet, he felt as though he was missing something crucial that he wasn't acknowledging.<p>

Rick shifted slightly, his mind trying to work out what it was that was missing by trying to take in and compare every bit of information he held of the two ponies. They were remarkably similar in their habits and speaking for the most part, but there were some differences. Their sizes weren't the same, with Moon being the larger mare, their coats were different colors, and they seemed to have clashing personalities. Moon was just the right amount aggressive and assertive, while Luna was somewhat meeker and more held-back. That's where his mind kept drawing blanks, at their personalities. Something about it just kept pestering him, telling him that there was something there that he wasn't seeing or was blind to. The agent let out a frustrated sigh, tired of thinking without pause and still lacking an answer.

He looked to left and saw Moon sleeping soundly, turned away from him after tossing and moving about in her sleep. Rick ran a hand through her hair before letting it fall back down to his side. Something in the back of his mind alerted him to the fact that he wasn't going to get much sleep tonight.

* * *

><p>Magic had its place in Luna's life, but she usually attempted to use as little of it as possible. It wasn't something to squander recklessly, and the least amount used was more that was available in a time of need. Now had been such a time as she used her horn to cast a tracking spell on herself, letting her find the human she wanted to see. Using another spell to quiet her steps as she ran was also a good idea that she employed, giving her the element of surprise when she arrived. Her mind began to recall the musky smell from earlier, and she felt herself shiver slightly from the feeling it gave her. Continuing faster, the Princess kept moving through the halls silently.<p>

After a minute of galloping, Luna was left in front of a door with an ethereal trail going through it. This was the place. She pressed her ear against it and held it there, trying to hear anything that might tip her off to what they were doing. After hearing nothing, she prepared a few other spells to assist her. Her horn lit, and with it her eyes before they resumed their regular color. Her ability to see in the dark was multiplied, while allowing her to see normally in regular light. The other spell was one of invisibility, one that would let Luna move around without noticeability. The next one was trickier, but she was successful in teleporting into the room without using a flash that would alert them to her presence.

Now that she inside of the bedroom, Luna began to silently make her way to the bed using her magical night vision as a guide. Leaning in close, she spotted a pitch-black mound slumbering next to a human using his hands as a pillow, despite there being one under them. Inching closer, the Princess gave a sweet smile to the man that couldn't see it, but it remained nonetheless. As she was about to speak, Luna was silenced when something grabbed her by the throat quickly, holding her in a deadly grip.

* * *

><p>Rick was closing the gap to sleep when something suddenly felt all too wrong. There was some kind of disturbance, but he couldn't place it properly. He hadn't heard or seen anything out of the ordinary, but then again, he couldn't even see anything in the darkness of the room. Even his eyes couldn't adjust to the lack of light, and that now seemed to be a problem. The air felt different, and there was almost this change in pressure that presented itself in the room. Assuming it was what he dubbed his "sixth-sense", Rick kept still, unmoving and waiting for any indication of what was near him. His eyes darted to the right, and a pearly-white smile literally appeared in front of him and out of nowhere. Listening to instinct, the agent quickly grabbed at the area underneath the smile and held the throat tightly; coiling and digging his fingers into the muscles and veins of whatever it was that saw fit to attack him in his sleep.<p>

The smile instantly faded, and all that was left was an invisible force that was being held in his hand. He felt hooves smack his arm in a vain attempt to stop him but he kept his grip, loosening it significantly. There were no sounds though, which seemed odd for him. A bright flash came out of nowhere, and before it faded, he was able to make out the figure that he was holding. His heart sank instantly, overcome with grief at his actions. Staring at him with fearful eyes was Luna, who seemed to be silently crying from the short encounter with his strength. He gently put her down, dropped down to his knees, and held her in a tight hug. Self-hatred and deep regret were the prime feelings that encumbered him, and he realized that what he had done was so awful that he would never forgive himself.

Luna was surprised to feel something moist hit her shoulders as Rick spoke gently, "Luna… I-I'm sorry… So, so sorry for what I did… I… I thought you were trying to kill me…" Not for a moment was he able to turn his head to face her, and he was far too overcome with his feelings to look her in the eye, "P-Please… forgive me, Luna… I didn't mean to do that, I didn't mean to hurt you…"

The Princess was left in awe at his reaction to his own actions, and even more so that he was crying on her shoulder. Was he really that remorseful for something that wasn't entirely his fault? Luna herself began to feel the guilt of putting him in the position to do such a thing that would hurt him so, and she knew she had to make this right somehow.

Whispering into his ear, Luna tried to hide the guilt in her voice, "No Rick, it was my fault, I shouldn't have snuck up on you. I should have remembered your story about things that do that to you… but I was far too foalish to remember that… Please, forgive me, Rick."

The tears had dried up by the time he spoke, "Don't say that… it's not your fault, and don't think it ever is. I want to try so hard to protect you, Luna, but here I am, hurting you so much… Please, if there's anything… Anything that I can do to make it up to you, tell me…"

Touched by his words, Luna mentally forgave both of them before responding, "I forgive you… but…"

Rick began to run his hands through her mane, "But?"

Luna pulled back and gave him a light kiss on the lips, "There is something that I'd like you… to do for me?"

"Anything," he responded with a nod of his head.

She looked down, her face guilty with a deep blush, "Well, you see… I came across the washroom you two were using and… there was this scent."

Rick blinked, "… A scent?"

"Yes, a musky scent, two mixed together, in fact. One was of a mare… the other a male."

Still not fully understanding it, Rick asked a question, "What's so important about these scents?"

Luna bit her bottom lip, "W-When a mare is… enticed by a stallion and he feels the same way… they release pheromones to each other."

She looked at the man, waiting for a reaction. After almost a minute, nothing had come other than him just staring at her. Suddenly, he spoke to her in as gentle a voice as he could give.

"You're telling me that… you're attracted to my pheromones?" She nodded, "And what exactly does that do to you?"

The Princess looked away, awkwardly blushing, "Um… It… I-I don't really want to say…"

Rick leaned closer and kept his eyes on Luna's, "Does it make you feel…" She backed up slightly, but he advanced to match the ground she lost, "nice?" Luna scooted back once again, this time with her face far redder, "Or maybe…" She eventually had her back against the wall, with her staring at Rick who got dangerously close to her, "really good..?"

"I-I-Umm-"

He kissed her, pressing himself against her and pinning the alicorn to the wall. She was surprised and almost pulled away before she let him take control and her senses to roam freely. With a clear restraint, Rick worked his mouth against hers and tried as much to make it as pleasurable as possible for her. Luna felt something invade her mouth, sliding on her teeth and asking for entrance. She obliged it, and his tongue began to dance against hers, running around the inside her mouth and forcing a moan from it. He pulled back and looked at Luna, whose eyes were still closed and her mouth still making a kissing motion. He smiled to himself when she realized that he had stopped. Rick lifted her up and held her close, and a natural instinct of covering her face with her hooves in embarrassment took over. The man peeled away the hooves and placed her down on the bed, kissing her on the neck and slowly making his way downwards. Every kiss caused her body to quiver, and she felt her slit start to engorge and dampen from the treatment.

Luna gasped sharply, completely overcome by the new feeling that racked her body. She felt something slither around down below, making its way about her nether region and covering it in a wet substance. The Princess grabbed a pillow and bit down, trying her best to contain moans of pleasure. Something, she assumed one of Rick's fingers, ran against her labia, tracing and teasing it gently. She could feel the spasms run up her body from his touch, and the pillow found its way over her face to cover her blush. Without warning, a finger began to slowly ease its way inside of her pussy. A wet moan croaked out of her throat as it squirmed its way inside of her, rubbing the inner walls of her vagina gently. A steady motion began to build as the finger moved in and out of her, sending a wave of pleasure through the alicorn.

A second finger soon joined in, this one adding onto the other and providing more erotic feelings to occur within Luna. Rick's fingers felt the contractions from inside of Luna grip and release them, a sign that she was enjoying his work. She felt herself get closer and closer to cumming, with her heaving and moaning loudly. Her body jolted as she felt his tongue circle her clitoris; making it engorge with blood and redden immensely. It worked its way around expertly, not stopping for a single moment to give her a break. Luna pulled the pillow back over her face and screamed in pleasure as she came, letting her mare juice hit Rick square in the face. Her breathing was ragged as the pillow was slowly pulled off of her face. Her vision swam slightly as someone familiar looked down at her with smile. She looked up at the man, whose face was covered in her own liquid, and smiled back.

Rick ran his hand against her cheek, "Are you ready for the second part?"

Princess Luna nodded, "P-Please, be gentle… I-"

"First time?" She nodded again, "Don't worry, I'll take it easy. Just try to relax, alright?"

"Wait…" Luna rolled over and stood on all four hooves, "I-I hope you don't mind… but can we do it this way?"

"I'm not objecting," he said while slowly rubbing her flank.

Her tail lifted upwards, giving him a different angle to look at her privates. Positioning himself at her entrance, Rick prodded it with his penis. A quick inhale from his partner confirmed that she was a bit nervous at what was going to happen. Placing both hands on opposite sides of her Cutie Mark, he slowly nudged forward, letting his dick just barely penetrate. Luna bit down on her lips, already feeling some pain from her first sexual encounter. She turned her head to see the concerned look he was giving her.

Rick gave a small frown, "Are you sure about this? We can stop now if it hurts too much."

"N-no… continue."

"Are you sure? Luna, it's okay if you don't want to or if you're scared. There's no reason to just lose your virginity like that."

"T- that was an order fr- from the Princess!"

He slowly began to retract his penis from her slit, "I'm sorry Luna, but I just can't hurt you anymore than I already have. You mean too much for me to ju-"

Not listening to his words, Luna leaned back, pushing his member and taking it in all the way. Luckily, a hoof managed to quiet her scream of pain as her eyes watered. She had taken the rock-hard penis all the way to the hilt, letting it hit against her insides. Her legs buckled, but she managed to keep herself from falling down onto the bed. The pain began to lessen, but was still intense and fresh in her mind.

She felt Rick's hands rubbing her back comfortingly, "Luna… why did you do that? You didn't need to do that at all… I don't want to see you hurt yourself for me."

Luna turned her head in an angered and tear-stained face, "Because I want to love you! I want to make love to you! Why can't you just understand that? Why can't you just accept that you don't need to be so gentle with me? I'm not some foal! I can handle it!" Her angry tirade died down to a whimper, with her lip quivering, "J- just please… continue…"

Rick felt his heart flutter once again from her words and he nodded, "Alright, I'll take it slow… but please, if it hurts too much, tell me. I'll do my best to make this not just your first time, but your best time, alright?"

The Princess wiped a tear away from her face, "O-Okay… please, just treat me…" she looked over to Nightmare Moon, who was somehow still asleep, "like her…"

Moving his hips, Rick began to slowly pull out from Luna, letting his dick graze the walls of her vagina teasingly. He reached the entrance before moving forward again, this time with Luna giving out a faint moan. Slowly, the pain began to subside, letting the titillation of sex take over her mind. The indulgence for both of them prompted him to start moving a bit faster. The pace began to quicken as she started to move, grinding her hips against him. His sweat began to drip down and stick to her flank, making wet sounds of sex permeate through the air. Luna's forelegs soon gave out, already too addled with gratification from her partner to be able to function properly. He spread her legs more, giving him more room to get closer to her flank. A weak moan found its way out of the Princess and her hind legs were jellied from the hammering force Rick was giving her.

He pulled out, letting liquid drip off of his penis and back onto Luna, who already drenched the sheets of the bed beneath them. Rick flipped her over and kissed her before positioning himself again. A faint whimper was heard and he looked to Luna for approval. She nodded and grabbed his hands, pulling him back inside of her. His grunts contrasted with her whimpers as he continued the sex, not realizing that somepony nearby had woken up from her deep slumber. Without provocation, Moon turned over and looked at Luna with lustful eyes. Luna's gasp was cut off when the larger alicorn began to grope her with her mouth. Her eyes widened in shock from the act but she soon lost herself in the orgy of sex, not fully caring anymore. Rick stopped moving his body and he stared at the two alicorns making out in front of him, with his jaw down and low. He blinked and smirked to himself before continuing to pump into Luna and feeling her contract against his member tightly.

The hot breath shared between the two ponies turned both on significantly, but it was Moon who broke it first. She pulled away from the Princess, leaving a saliva trail in her wake. A low moan of longing echoed from the depths of Luna's throat, but Moon took advantage of the situation. Positioning her marehood against Luna's muzzle, the jet-black alicorn began to kiss Rick affectionately.

Luna was left in a mist, not sure what happening other than the fact that something was going in and out of her and that a mare's plot was on her face. Too horny to bother thinking about her situation, the young Princess began to do exactly what Rick had done her. Using her tongue, Luna began to lap at Moon's marehood, doing her best to tease her as much as possible with it. The quivering slit in front of her released some juice, telling the Princess that she was making progress. A moan escaped from Nightmare Moon's mouth as she broke the kiss with Rick. She stood up, and Luna gave a whimper that nearly begged for the other alicorn to come back down. Of course, Moon, being the mare she was, had others plans in mind.

Taking on a new position, Moon sat behind Luna and took her horn with her hoof. Luna's eyes widened in shock as she felt something wrap around her horn and small trickles of liquid make their way down her face. Using Luna's horn, Moon began to use it as a makeshift dildo and press it inside of her, letting her body quake around it. Luna bit down on her lip, too overcome with pleasure as Moon took Luna's horn in and out of her. Both moaned weakly, but it was Luna who was approaching her peak quickly. She shut her eyes, letting her pussy tighten around Rick's penis, which also made him nearing his point as well. They came together, with Rick filling her with his hot seed and Luna orgasming from two places. Her lower lips leaked fluid, but her horn shot magic straight into Nightmare Moon, filling her as well.

Luna sighed contently but her heavy breathing continued. Rick lay next to her, sweaty and tired from the workout. Moon, however, would hear nothing of it as she removed herself from Luna's horn and placed herself over Rick. He blinked at the sudden attempt at sex and stuttered out mindless babble for a few seconds.

Rick gave his head a light shake and smirked, "Not satisfied?"

Moon was breathing heavily on his neck, turning him on again, "Not just yet, but almost…"

She lowered herself and took him in quickly. Both already near orgasm again, the two synched their movements with an expertise and without words. The magic inside of Moon's maw was pressing against his member, giving it that same tingling feeling as before. He felt himself get close along with Moon, and before they knew it, they were cumming together. Moon collapsed onto Rick and kissed him on the cheek. He smiled warmly to her and did the same.

Rick turned his head to see Luna already asleep, supposedly too exhausted to remain awake anymore. Moon sat there for a moment, taking in as much of his seed as possible before rolling off and getting as close as possible to him. She nuzzled the agent and quickly fell to sleep, more than content with her day. Rick used his hand to pull the sleeping Luna in just as close and kissed her on the forehead. He sat there for a moment and smiled to himself, satisfied with all that had happened between the three. For that moment, he felt like the luckiest man in the world, before falling asleep that is. Still, he knew in his mind that love had truly found him today, and for that, he was grateful once more.

* * *

><p>Holy shit man, that was one big ass fucking clop scene. Seriously, that shit is long as shit. But I gotta ask: How did you guys like it? Good, bad, terrible, do tell. In fact, there's a poll about that shit and I'd like opinions. Enough of that, though.<p>

Anyway, it's been almost two months since the last update. I'm sorry about that, because if you do actually like this fic and have managed to actually read the shit ton of words that compose it, you might not like the fact that I've held off this chapter for a bit. Lots of shit like midterms and the like have come up, as well as working on other stuff such as Redeem, Revive, Revolt with Lucius Seneca. I hope this chapter makes up for that.

I don't even know what else to write at this point, so... yeah, fuck, I don't know. Please, tell me how I did etc..

Also, big shout out to my boy nobodyreallyimportant for beta/proof-reading this chapter. What a team player and a G.

As Always,

Stay Trilla


	23. Chapter 23

**Stasis**

**Chapter 23: The Morning After**

**By: Stillmatic**

* * *

><p>Princess Celestia stood stock still, receiving an ominous feeling from somewhere within her kingdom. The source eluded her for quite a while as the alicorn remained motionless, sifting through the natural magical energies that flowed through the world. Her face twitched when she realized what it was. Moving quickly, Celestia left her quarters and teleported to Luna's, finding it empty and devoid of life.<p>

"… Where's-"

Her eyes met the window, finding the Moon was still in the sky despite the fact it should have been receding by this time. The Princess grumbled and chose to do the task herself. The Moon began to lower itself, eventually colliding with the horizon until it left entirely. Shafts of sunlight just barely peeked over, shining magnificently onto the highest towers of the city. After doing the deed, Princess Celestia sat on Luna's bed, tired from the exertion.

"I forgot how hard this was since Luna came back…" The Princess said to nopony in particular.

Then, it occurred to her. Almost all of Luna's time in recent days was spent with that tasteless human who interloped in her kingdom. A light frown crossed her face, uncharacteristic of the sun goddess. She didn't hate or despise him for what he'd done so far, but simply wished he'd either never have come or would have pulled his act together. Really, how could a stallion act so careless, rude, and obnoxious? To royalty, no less?

Never one to force her regality over commoners, Celestia sighed inwardly, frustrated with the situation she was in. She couldn't simply teleport him permanently back to his world, due to her not having that kind of power. Killing him never even crossed her mind yet, something he would have found surprising had he'd known. Banishment wasn't an option either, what with how fond Luna was of him now. She would never hear the end of it from her little sister if she ever did such a thing.

Did she approve of the relationship? Not very much, if any at all. The fact that he was with both Nightmare Moon and Luna sent shivers down her spine, frightening her at how that would undoubtedly turn out. Harems were a thing of the past, long forgotten now that the population was secure and safe. A flare of tense anger picked up within the Princess, narrowing her eyes down to slits.

"If he so much as hurts Lulu a single time…"

She stomped her hoof down, letting the negativity out with force. A quick look down revealed that the floor beneath her was crushed under her hoof's strength. The Princess blushed and teleported back to her room. A piece of parchment made its way in front of her along with a quill, and soon an elegant writing with perfect penmanship graced the paper. She sent it down to a maintenance pony with her magic and turned to the window. The large, white alicorn sighed for what felt like the hundredth time today as she stared out to the rising sun.

'Lulu… where are you?'

* * *

><p>Nightmares were always the main reason Rick Vali kept sleep to a minimum and last night should have been no different. His "interactions" with the two mares he was currently lying with did nothing to stifle the memories that forcibly crept their way into his life once more, only to wreak havoc and drain some of his confidence. Not once in the past ten years had he dreamt of something that alleviated him in some way, but he ignored that fact as much as possible. There was an odd feeling to knowing that your sleep was your gateway to extreme displeasure, yet there was always some kind of underlying message that eluded him constantly.<p>

Mentally fed up with his current nightmare, Rick snapped awake, his body rocketing up towards to a sitting position. The heavy breathing, sticky sweat, and smell of sex were all muffled from his senses while his ears rang and vision swam, making him nauseous. His hands comforted his eyes by lightly rubbing them and then propping his head up, letting him gain his breath back. The agent shuddered, feeling a chill run up his spine at the memory that plagued him during the night.

"These fucking nightmares…" He looked back at the two mares still sleeping soundly, "I've been fucking night mares…"

Rick sighed and for quite a bit, found himself staring at the wall in front of him, as if waiting for something. It almost entranced him for that time, up until he felt a hoof on his chest pulling him to where his back was lying against the bed again. Rick's eyes met Luna's, who still had a blissful, yet sleepy, look on her face. Her half-open eyelids opened up slightly more, letting him get a better look at her beautiful eyes. She hummed lightly before nuzzling against his shoulder affectionately. The soft fur rubbed up against him, giving him an odd feeling that he hadn't felt in quite a while before meeting her.

Luna spoke quietly, "Sleep well?"

Rick immediately lied, "Yeah, I'd say so. You?"

"I'd sleep better if I knew you would just tell me the truth," She said, a small smile creeping across her lips.

He opened his mouth to protest but stopped short with that endeavor, "How'd you know?"

The sweet smile turned deadpan, obviously holding an "Are you serious?" look to it. A rustling to his left was followed by a more mature voice speaking.

"I suspected it was quite obvious how we'd know."

Nightmare Moon lied on her side, one hoof propping her head up and the other on the agent's chest. She rolled her eyes at his perplexed look and sighed, clearly from having to explain what should have been obvious to the man.

"We're mares of the night, we can see the dreams of others if we're in proximity of them. 'Nightmare' is even in my name, after all."

Rick suddenly felt very stupid for not realizing that and groaned, "Damn, I guess that means you saw what happened."

"And how it made you feel," Luna added, "…Which was quite… disturbing."

"Yes, quite… Who were those two humans?"

He exhaled, knowing that he'd have to fill in the details of his nightmare, "My two best friends from childhood. I went into the mini-mart to get some stuff for us to eat while they were waiting outside… Yeah, I think you know the rest."

Luna poked him in the side with her hoof, "Continue, please?"

"Well, we picked a bad time to hang out here, apparently. That car full of enforcers from the," Rick gritted his teeth, "Russian crime family that tried to encroach on our neighborhood for a while. Perelli didn't pay protection money, mostly because he was a stubborn, old bastard. Then, those guys did it."

"And they did that to the store and your friends simply because of a bribe?" Moon asked.

"… Yeah, I guess so. Jason and Chester got in the crossfire. You two saw what happened; it wasn't pretty. That… that whole thing is what made me hate them. The Russians, that is. I realize it's fucking stupid of me, but since that day, I couldn't help but see them as all the same. They fucking killed one of my best friends, they hate my country, and they want to end what we do… How can I not hate them?"

Luna gave him a sympathetic look and tried to change the subject, "Who was that woman that stopped you from getting to them?"

"My mom. I hated her for doing that for a long time, and now I realize that I was a dumbass for feeling that way. She was only trying to protect me and I just felt this hatred towards her because of it." Rick sighed again, "At-At least she managed to save Chester."

"What of the other one?"

"He bled to death on the spot. Chester's parents ended up filing for a transfer to the western branch of the Agency. I didn't see him again for almost a decade."

Moon thought on that for a moment, "What occurred when you met him again?"

Rick frowned, "I killed him."

Luna's once half-closed eyes opened fully, "W-What? How could you do that?"

"He… defected. Simple as that… Headed to Ukraine to get picked up by some Commune Operators and I intercepted him as my first mission under Jethro." Rick ran a hand down his face tiredly before continuing, "Do you want to hear what happened?"

He looked to both mares to see their response. Luna didn't even want to look at him, still shocked to hear what he had done. Moon, on the other hand, seemed interested in his account of what happened all those years ago and nodded.

"It went like this…"

* * *

><p>The man hummed tunelessly to himself, watching the sun barely recede over the horizon. It was a stunning site, one he wished he could enjoy for longer. The swamps of Ukraine were dirty, yet they held some hidden semblance of beauty unattainable by any other region. He stood against a large oak tree in the middle of a decently sized clearing, waiting patiently. The branches above were full of green, bright life and a twinge of envy crept into his character. A barely audible sigh came from his mouth as he glanced around, seeing all the tall reeds sway in the breeze.<p>

He wasn't supposed to be here. His presence in Ukraine was a violation of international treaty, something he could suffer execution for. Yet, that wasn't what was on his mind. It was who was after him, hunting him and closing in. It was heartbreaking to know who they'd sent to chase him down, yet he continued anyway. The ex-agent was waiting for a few Operators from the Russian branch of the Commune who were ordered to secure him and bring him back to the "Big Land" for his defection. They hadn't arrived yet and he was left in the clearing, watching the sunset.

He glanced to his right and spotted a bird he'd never seen in person before. It was odd to see such a bird in the swamps, what with its bright red tips and sharp shape. The man found himself staring at the silent bird perched above him, watching it carefully.

"Bombycilla Garrulus, the Bohemian Waxwing."

The traitor froze, recognizing the voice immediately, "… Ricky."

They both went silent, backs pressed against opposite sides of the massive oak. For the longest time, they stood there, waiting for the other to make the first move. The sun dipped lower and lower, unbothered about the intense dilemma between two friends that was occurring below. It was Rick who first spoke.

"You know, you don't have to do this. You can come back with me, to the States, and just work as an agent again."

Chester turned his head, "You know I can't do that. I'd get killed the second I stepped back on American soil. Besides, I knew the consequences when I did this."

"It's still not too late to just come back." Chester heard pain in the next word, making him wince. "Please."

"I'm sorry, but I'm doing what I have to."

"Why? What could you possibly gain from working for the Commune? They're just going to use you until you're worthless, then they'll just off you."

Chester sighed, "So would the U.S., Ricky. I don't agree with the Commune, but I'm tired. Tired of all this bullshit between nations. Tired of all this war, all this espionage, all this pointless killing. Unless we do something, it'll never end. I can see myself helping it finally finish by helping the Commune. Besides, I'm using them just as much as they're using me."

"… That's crazy… You're a traitor and you're trying to end what _can't_ ever end? This is the life we're _dealt_, and we _have_ to live it."

"No, Ricky, we don't… I realize that now. By giving the Commune a better chance, I can catalyze talk between both groups. The Coalition can't hold itself together forever, and they'll probably start something to maintain peace." He gave a single laugh, "Hah… Free Nations my ass. We were never free in any way. We're just ruled by fear, prejudice, and our own ignorance. Until we can learn to live without that, we'll never be free."

Rick remained silent for a few moments, before croaking out a few words, "…You know… You know what this means, don't you? They sent me here for a reason…"

"Of course they did," Chester sighed, "But I wouldn't have it any other way then for you to do it… If you can, that is." His tone became more aggressive, "If you aren't going to, then I recommend you get out of my way and leave before the Operators come."

Rick stomped his way around the oak tree, glaring at his friend with watery eyes from two meters away, "No! Why the fuck would I do that? I'm not leaving you again, not after what happened last time!"

"That wasn't your fault, Ricky. Those were just some hired guns to kill Perelli, not me or Jason. It wasn't their intent to hurt us that day and you know it." Chester exhaled in exasperation, "Honestly, Ricky, you've let this hatred blind you for too long. A few bad seeds does not a rotten apple make. You're just being ignorant, racist, and unfairly prejudiced against a whole population because of what a couple did to your friends. You need to learn to move on."

"Move on? Move on? HOW THE HELL CAN YOU EVEN SUG-"

A gunshot from behind Rick stopped him midsentence, making him turn his back quickly towards the source. From the reeds stood five men, each dressed in drab outfits with sewn-in debris meant for matching with the environment. Their hands gripped automatic rifles firmly as the men rose, their faces hidden from olive-colored bandanas. Rick felt his heart sink at the sight, knowing he didn't stand a chance with only the handgun at his waist.

The one who fired the shot lowered his weapon from the air and aimed it at Rick, ready to fire again should he try anything. Rick eyed him over, concluding he was the leader of that Operative detachment. That man pulled down the bandana from his face, displaying his rugged features and crooked smile. He stepped forward along with his subordinates, each taking spots on either side of him, with him in the middle.

The Lead Operator spoke in broken English, "Hello, what we have here? Two Americans? We were informed of only one coming with us."

"Fuck right off, bitch!" Rick snarled, "Take your Potato-Farmer-Vodka-Gargling-Cum-Guzzling-Peasant-Looking-Ugly-Ass-Communism-Spewing-Shitface, RIGHT THE FUCK OUTTA HERE!"

The Operator's head recoiled back, surprised at the reaction, "I do not understand, what does those words mean? I heard Communism correctly, and it seems you are denouncing what we stand for."

Rick gritted his teeth, "You better believe it. Communism. Is. For. Fucking. COCKSUCKERS. LIKE. YOU!"

Suddenly, all of their rifles were aimed at Rick's body. They showed no hesitation in raising them, putting the agent in a difficult spot. His chances of surviving this were smaller than slim, yet he didn't back down from his position. The Leader glared at Rick with clear spite, already wanting to shoot him in the face for his words.

"We shall take you anyway, see if have you any information." He smiled smugly, "With torture, even if not needed."

Rick felt himself shiver at the thought, knowing full-well what happened within the "Information Retrieval Chambers" at any Commune Headquarters. Very few, if any, manage to survive what things they would be willing to do in exchange for little tidbits. His eyes met the cold ones of the man in front of him, the seriousness cut across his face.

"Rick… lay on the ground now…"

He turned his eyes back, just barely seeing Chester from his peripherals. Behind him, his childhood friend was reaching for his handgun as inconspicuously as possible. Realizing he didn't have a choice in the matter, Rick dived to the ground, forcing the eyes of the Operatives to focus on him. Chester pulled out his weapon and fired repeatedly.

Rick's eyes were directed at four of the five men, each quickly falling to the ground from bullet wounds to the head. The last one hit the Leader in the arm, knocking him back. He in turned fired at Chester in his brief window of opportunity, landing hits on his chest and right arm and dropping the ex-agent to the grass. Chester's eyesight faded for a moment from the shock, seeing the Operator regain his footing and aim the assault rifle at his head. Relief hit him once the man fell to the dirty ground, a bullet lodged in his eye-socket.

Rick stowed his handgun with his hands shaking considerably. It wasn't immediately obvious why, but turning around towards his friend soon told him. Chester lied there against the oak, bleeding from his body rapidly. A gloved hand caressed some of the chest's bullet wounds, staining his clothing red.

The ex-agent tore open his white button-down, heaving from the pain he was enduring as he did so. Rick watched, keeping his eyes on the man near him. Eventually, Chester managed to pull of his bulletproof vest, an inadequate protection against the rifle rounds lodged in his body. It fell to the floor flat, riddled with holes and seeping red liquid.

Without realizing it, Rick felt tears slide down his face, easing their way downwards. He rushed to Chester's side and quickly began to examine the wounds, seeing if it was at all possible to save him. His head leaned in close to his chest, looking at a specific hole until Chester spoke in an irritated voice.

"… Stop that, there's nothing you can do, Ricky." The defector could feel the sticky, warm blood seep from his mouth lethargically, "I-I'm not going to make it, and you know that just as much as I do, man."

Rick grabbed Chester by the shoulders, giving him a light shake, "No man! We can get you out of here and to a hospital, we just need t-"

"No! What hospital will we find nearby? We're in the middle of nowhere, for god's sakes! Just give it up, I'm done!"

He let his head fall and stared at the ground, "Damn't Chester… why did you have to go and do this? Why couldn't you just stop and live like the rest of us in the U.S.?"

"I'd rather die a free man for what I believe in than live a puppet for something I have no feelings for…" He looked at Rick, lifting his head up, "Maybe you'll understand that one day, Ricky."

When Rick averted his eyes in shame, he was pulled in close for what he thought was a hug at the time. What ended up happening was that despite dying against a tree, Chester pulled Rick's face in close, holding him in as he pressed their lips together. Rick recoiled immediately, trying to pull himself away. It proved fruitless. Yet it was somewhat impressive that Chester was able to harness such strength when he was clearly mortally wounded as opposed to the perfectly healthy man. A metallic taste hit Rick's tongue and mouth. The ex-agent let go, letting Rick fall backwards and shove himself away.

Chester seemed amused by Rick's extremely perplexed and confused face, "I should've probably told you a long time ago… but I really do feel that way about you, Ricky. Since we were teenagers." He frowned, "I-I just didn't know how to say it was the problem… I didn't want to push you away and lose you as a friend just because I didn't know what to think of how I felt about you."

Despite feeling a little violated, Rick smirked in an attempt to hide his regret, "I'm really that irresistible, huh?" It fell to be replaced by a sympathetic look, "Y-You could've told me you know… I wouldn't have thought any less of you."

"And risk our friendship? Ricky, I've always been your friend, through everything… I wasn't just going to let my feelings ruin all of that."

Rick kneeled down and pulled Chester into a hug, feeling the now-weak grip, "Ches, you'll always be the best friend I'll ever have, ever. It took me years before I was able to make friends with anyone again after what happened. I just couldn't stand the thought that I might lose more because I wasn't there to protect them."

Chester pulled away and stared Rick in the eyes, "Ricky, it was never your fault. You got to accept that, for me." The agent nodded, "Now, you wouldn't happen to have some way to end this quick, would you?"

Rick reached behind him and pulled a medical kit from his belt, laying it out and opening the container. He moved stuff around with his hands and removed a few bottles along with a needle.

"Morphine."

"That'll do. Come on, stick it all in and," Chester patted the ground next to him, "watch the sunset with me. One last favor."

Rick hid a depressed frown, "Of course. Anything."

With that, the agent began to inject the chemical into different parts of Chester. The overdose would be quick and effective with the amount he would use, leaving the procedure relatively pain-free. After finishing, Rick sat next to his friend against the oak tree, watching the sun set over the reeds. For the next few minutes, the two silently watched it dip lower and lower until it was beyond their sight, gone for the night.

Rick turned his head to Chester with a smile, "Hey Ches, you thin-"

He stopped, spotting Chester's lack of movement and closed eyes. There was no sound of breathing or indication of life among the man. Rick sighed and leaned against his friend, wanting to spend as long as possible with him before inevitably having to leave. He shut his eyes, relaxing but trying to remain awake.

When the agent opened them again, it was already well into the night. That fact startled him but he remained where he was. A quick glance towards Chester was all that he needed to stay. Rick looked back up towards the sky and spotted the vast canvas painted in front of him. Stars dotted various areas but what really caught his eye was the Moon.

A trickle of heartache eased its way into his character, bringing a certain uncomfortable feeling into the air. In mere moments, he found himself crying again from the sheer beauty he was witnessing. Not many times before had he ever felt the need to such a thing but now it just seemed appropriate to do so.

The young agent pulled his legs in and wrapped his arms around them, suddenly feeling very alienated from the world. He watched carefully, sitting there and contemplating the events of his life so far. Almost everyone except for his sister was dead at this point in his life, with nearly no others worth naming. It was a lonely feeling but he knew that it was out of his power.

The only thing there was to do at this point was to continue with his life and hopefully live until an old age with someone close to him. It was an unlikely pipe-dream, but it didn't matter. He was just happy to have lived this long in such a chaotic world filled with dismal prospects. A tired Rick leaned back against the tree again, wanting nothing more than to put the entire day behind him. He stole a glance to his right, knowing that such a thing would never truly happen. Things never seemed to work out in his favor as of late.

* * *

><p>"… and I took his body back to the States so he could get a proper burial. I became a full-fledged agent after that and worked under Jethro from there on in. I-I got a medal though… for killing him." Rick sighed, "If I knew what I know now, I would've killed those Operators and saved Chester. They would have probably killed me, but better me than him. He knew what he was talking about. He knew what real freedom meant. What's funny is… is that I still managed to have faith. Faith in a country that orders you to kill your own childhood friend." The agent looked down, ashamed, "He was a real friend who cared about me until the end. And I killed him. I guess that's why I don't deserve to actually ever keep anyone around me. They'll probably just end up getting hurt in the end, with me as the person who did it." Rick suddenly remembered he was still surrounded by the two mares, "Which reminds me that I need to ask a question. Why the hell are either of you with me? What could both of you find in a scumbag like me that you'd like enough to get in a relationship with me?"<p>

The next thing that that occurred after finishing that sentence was Rick receiving a slap to the face from Nightmare Moon. Luna, on the other hoof, jabbed him in the side, not realizing how hard she had done it. The slap stung fiercely, which came as a surprise, and the hoof to the kidney (he guessed) would probably bruise badly.

He winced, trying to hide the pain, "Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to have you fix my nerves, at least this wouldn't hurt so much."

Luna crossed her hooves, "Well, it's what you deserve for saying things like that."

"Yes, what you were just saying was unnecessary and needless," Mood added.

"As I recall, we've been over this before a few times, haven't we?"

Rick nodded, "Possibly." Luna glared at him, "Ugh, fine. Yeah, we have."

The larger alicorn crossed her hooves as well, "Then do tell us why you would ever bother with asking such a question that you already knew the answer to?"

"It's nice to know that despite that, you're still by my side. Hell, I'm surprised Aden has stuck with me this long. But you two can get any guy you want, so why choose me? What makes me so special that you're willing to be with a killer?"

"And why wouldn't we want to be with a stallion like you?" Luna asked, "You're a much better suitor than others that I've seen, even if you aren't a pony."

"Indeed; we do have much to choose from, but have you considered that we're content with choosing you?" Moon questioned.

Rick shrugged, "Just seems surprising is all. I tend to push most people away with how much of an asshole I can be."

"You're forgetting something," Luna said, grinning.

"What?"

"We're not 'people.'"

The agent burst into laughter, "Hah! Why the hell does that seem so familiar? Anyway…" He leaned back up, left the bed, and turned to the mares, "I'm going to take a shower to… you know, clean up. Get some sleep, it's still early in the morning."

Rick gave Luna a quick peck on the cheek and was met with a glare when he finished. He sighed and kissed her on the lips, at which point she held him for a few moments longer than normal. The small alicorn let go and buried herself under the covers, letting only the top of her head peek out as she snuggled up to sleep. Rick nearly had a heart attack from the sheer cuteness of the scene before him.

The agent went to an expectant Moon and decided to keep it simple by planting one on her forehead, avoiding her horn in fear of the consequences. He looked down to find that her lips unpuckered slowly, a sour look to her face. Rick held a finger under her chin and smirked.

"Maybe if you're a good girl today, I'll give you something else."

She responded by trying to bite his finger. When she failed, she smiled coyly and lied back down on the bed. Both mares weren't exactly the ones to wake up early and only did so because of Rick's nightmare, leaving them fairly tired in the process. Moon opened her eyes as Rick left and found Luna staring at her with a smirk. The darker alicorn narrowed her eyes when her counterpart simply stuck her tongue out childishly and went back to trying to fall asleep.

'… She's going to regret that later.' Moon thought, feeling herself become aroused from seeing that tongue again, 'I'll make sure of it…'

* * *

><p>Rick had finished showering and was on his way to the Atrium to see if anyone was awake this early in the morning. He arrived in a short amount of time and found two souls still milling about, doing whatever it was they were doing. Aden was being a nerd and doing some form of calculations that Rick couldn't see on a chalkboard while Trixie was messing around with capturing fire with her magic in a bored manner.<p>

He attempted to make a quick heel turn only to be blocked off by a wall of magic, which sent him stumbling back a few steps as a consequence. Rick looked at the exasperated, blue mare and smiled in an attempt to disarm her anger. Of course, there was no effect at all, leading to the Trixie using a magical hand to slap Rick across the face for his heinous crime of kicking her out of the washroom last night.

"Damn!" Rick exclaimed as he rubbed his left cheek, "Again! That actually hurt!"

The magician felt some bitterness leave her, "That's what you get for what you did!" She crossed her forelegs and sat down, staring at him, "Really, Rick, that was just unfair! You can't just kick a mare out of the bathroom and not let her use what she needs! That's rude and ungentlecoltly."

"Un-whaty? Do you ponies just make up these words or some shit?" He pulled his hand away from his still stinging face, "And besides, we were there first. So… yeah. Anyway, we left like, an hour later. You could have just went back once we were done."

Aden turned his head from an equation to speak over his shoulder, "Rick, you don't know what you're getting into."

The agent ignored his friend, "Whatever."

Trixie, however, had her anger reignited, "Wha- Bu- Grrr…" She narrowed her eyes for a moment, drilling them into Rick. Slowly, a smile crossed her lips, "You know, Nightmare Moon taught me a few tricks earlier…"

"So?"

With that, Rick was grabbed by a magical hand's tight grip, restricting all movement, "Oh god, this doesn't seem healthy."

The mare smirked and began juggling Rick, tossing him up the air repeatedly. For what she counted as roughly a few minutes, Trixie couldn't hold back her laughter at her little "revenge" towards her friend. Aden looked back once again and shrugged, not all that keen on getting between the fiasco waiting to happen. Satisfied with his punishment, Trixie let him down on his feet, where he was barely able to stand.

Rick stumbled around, his feet flailing in random directions. The nausea was next to unbearable, almost making the man regurgitate his last meal. With a spinning room and laughter plaguing him at the same time, he sat down and rested his head between his legs.

"…That wasn't… really funny…" he mumbled, "at all…"

After Trixie wiped away a few tears and sometime later, Rick was able to stand again. He glared at his friend for quite a bit until those lackluster eyes swerved towards Aden. The shirtless agent walked up to his comrade and looked at the work he'd done on the large chalkboard. Nearly every area was covered in some form of writing or scribble, most of which Rick couldn't understand. He shook his head, recalling again how bad his friend's penmanship was. It was always the scientists or doctors.

Aden turned his head and gave an unamused look, "Enjoy yourself last night? I figured as much when I heard about what Trixie saw, and when the Princess didn't come back too."

Rick glared at Trixie, "She told you?"

"It was better for me to get it off my chest then keep it bottled up, right?" Trixie asked, placing a hoof on her chest.

"Whatever. Why don't you go practice your third-person speech?"

Trixie frowned, "Hey, I only stopped speaking like that because you said it was pointless and confusing. Besides," A flourish of fireworks erupted from behind her, "The Great and Powerful Trixie needs not to practice, for she is already a master at such things."

Rick chuckled to himself, "Uh-huh." He turned his head to Aden, "To answer your question, yeah, I did. Shit was off the hook."

Aden shuddered, "Eugh, please, don't go into detail, man. Would rather not hear or imagine how that worked out for you."

Despite that, Rick began to reminisce about his experience the night before out loud, "Yeah… As it turns out, the wings on a pony are a sensitive spot for arousal. The horn's another. You probably already know the other spots."

"Rick…"

"Also, it's worth noting that I practically didn't feel a thing for the most part with Moon. Luckily, she's like some kind of magical neurosurgeon or something. She fixed my nerves with some healing magic and brought those lazy bastards back to life. Now I can feel stuff like I used to… or, at least how I think I used to."

Aden's interest was piqued at that, "Hmm? Really, now? She managed to fix that? Wow, and you'd need a few surgeons and a tidy sum to do that with our tech."

"Yup. Oh man, but did she do more with that horn than just heal, you know what I'm sayin'?"

His companion shuddered, "Rick, you're my friend and all, but I seriously don't want to hear about you experimenting with a unicorn horn up your-"

Rick smacked the back of Aden's head before he could finish, "Shut your dumb ass up, because that wasn't what I was talking about asshole. She used her magic to…" The agent began to pick his words carefully, "Hmm, well, to put it bluntly, she used her magic to beat me off."

Aden slowly turned his head back to Rick again, this time his face stoic and eyes narrowed, "Seriously Rick, cut that shit out."

"This was when we were in the shower, mind you. The first thing we did was me giving her a massage." Aden groaned into the hands that now covered his face, "Then Trixie interrupted it."

"That's _The Great and Powerful Trixie_ to you, plebeian!"

"She's just saying that because I'm Italian," He said with a roll of the eyes, turning back to the other human, "Anyways, after the massage, she used her magic to hold me down and shit." The agent smiled affectionately, "Oh man, I should've expected Moon would be the dominating type. Yep, shit went pretty good from there. We took a bunch of different positions and shit, and eventually I was able to break free from her hold and turn the tables on her." He frowned, "Didn't really work out for me though. Couldn't finish."

Aden was now hitting his head against the chalkboard, "Really? So interesting…"

"Damn, Moon is pretty educated. Never thought of using magic to fix my body, but she did, apparently. I always found intelligence to be sexy…" Aden looked up at him, a distraught look on his face, "Sorry man, I'm taken. Like I was saying… She fixed me up, we got in the shower, did some stuff, showered again, and then went to bed."

The engineer, overcome and severely annoyed by Rick's obliviousness, found his temper slowly burning away from the blathering that was penetrating his ears. His left eye twitched at certain parts of the story, something that Rick either ignored or didn't notice.

"So we went to sleep- well, she did, I just lied there for a while, thinking about shit. Next thing I know, something's sneaking up on me and a smile shows up outta nowhere." He frowned, "It was Luna, and I ended up hurting her."

Aden sighed, realizing his supposed "friend" just had a change of mood, "How?"

"I thought she was a killer or something and my instincts took over. I grabbed her by the throat and nearly crushed her wind pipe until she appeared in my hands." A solemn look passed face, "Man, I regret doing that. What a fucking idiot I was…"

"How can you blame yourself for that? Doesn't she know that you get all antsy with people creeping up on you?"

"She forgot."

"Oh. You worked it out though, right?"

"Yeah, and it led to her first time."

Aden felt his palm slap against his own face, "Good god, Rick…"

"Uh-huh, so then Moon joined in…"

The engineer lifted his head, "Wait, seriously? Huh."

"Yeah, I know, right? Surprised the hell outta me too. Some serious shit was going on with them too. Mouths touching and all sorts of other stuff. Never knew Moon had such a kinky side to herself."

"…"

"Twas all amazing in my eyes. And hot too. Man, have I seriously been going on about this for this long?"

"… Yeah…"

"It didn't make you uncomfortable, did it?"

"Yeah, it did…"

"Someone's not comfortable with the body," Rick added.

"The shit I put up with," Aden muttered, "Why would I be comfortable hearing about my friend having sex with two ponies? One being a Princess whose sister will probably behead you for doing her?"

"Nah, Luna wouldn't let that happen. Besides, wasn't it an interesting tale of romance and love?"

"No, not really. It just made me feel really uncomfortable."

"Oh. Wait, was Trixie listening in on this?"

Aden leaned back and spotted Trixie blushing madly only a few feet away from the two of them, "Yeah. I'd say so."

Rick turned his head to meet Trixie's eyes, only for her to turn them away quickly. He rolled his eyes and exhaled.

"For god's sake Trixie, lighten up! It wasn't _that bad_."

"Says you!" She whimpered, "That was horrifying!"

"What? Why?"

"I think it's probably the same reason it was for me," Aden added.

"Shut it, I want to hear her reason."

Trixie contemplated teleporting away, but realized it was useless. Rick would be able to easily find her, especially with two alicorns to help if he needed them. The mare sighed and tried to calm herself enough to speak.

"It's just that-that, well… you know…"

"Nah, I don't know. What're you talking about?"

"You had… _intercourse_ with them!"

"So?"

"Are you guys really ready for that in your relationship?"

"Why not?"

"Isn't it too intimate for you three? Shouldn't you be taking these things slower?"

"I don't see why. I like them and their bodies, they like me and mine. Just doing what comes natural."

"That's the problem…" The magician mumbled.

"Why's that?"

"Well, _because_!"

"Are we just going to keep going on in circles, or what?"

She sighed, "Fine, seeing as though you're too thick to understand."

Rick turned his head to Aden and whispered into his ear, "Funny, Moon called me thick last night too. Must be getting around." He grinned when he heard his friend shudder.

"Anyway," Trixie started, "It's just that I wasn't really sure if you were ready for fatherhood or not. Not many stallions are when they're that early into the relationship."

Rick gawked at her for a moment, thinking he didn't properly hear her. Then came the laughing once he realized he heard her right, irking the magician. The unfathomably infinite laughter was cut short by Trixie's magic, which formed a zipper of the man's mouth. She received a glare in return until the unicorn sighed and released her magic over him.

The agent rubbed at his lips, "You do realize I'm a human right? And that humans can't copulate with other species? I mean, that shit should be obvious."

Aden turned his head to speak, "It's both obvious and true. I'd say Rick has nothing to fear other than social backlash at this point because of the relationship."

"Maybe on _your world_ it can't happen, but remember where you are. I don't know much about what the planet is like where you guys are from, but Earth is literally filled with magical energy. It's in everything from ponies and griffons to plants and dirt," Trixie stated matter-of-factly.

"Your point?"

"My _point_ is that there's magic in every creature. Maybe not you two, but Nightmare Moon and Princess Luna must have _huge_ reserves of innate magic within them."

Aden glanced at Rick, "But what does this have to do with them being together?"

"I was getting to that. You see," she started, awkwardness gracing her voice, "w-when two different creatures _really _love each-"

Rick stopped her there, "Listen, I knew about this shit for a long time Trixie, I don't need a recap on how babies are made."

"Let me finish," Trixie groaned, "Okay, let me just break it down to something simple. Two creatures fall in love, right? Eventually they may feel the need to consummate that love, as most do. Now, if they decide to, two things can happen: the female gets pregnant or not, despite species difference."

Rick shook his head, "Not possible. Most species don't relate on the chromosomal level, so they can't reproduce together."

"Why do you think that?"

"It's science? It doesn't work, maybe? Might help that it's an established fact too, but hey, what do I know? I only spent a few years switching through universities and learning from the best in a series of fields. Yeah, you know, nothing much."

"There's something you're forgetting," she retorted, smiling smugly.

"And what's that?"

"Magic."

Aden turned back around fully now, "What's this now? How could magic possibly break the barriers of science?" He considered that again, "I mean, this 'magic' is just a bunch of energy exiting the brain in a controlled manner, so I can't see it affecting things on the micro-biological level at all."

"Word, the magics may be pretty nice, but I doubt it could do something like what you're implying."

"Well, it does, so that's that." They stared at her, "Ugh, fine. Must Trixie go into detail?" The two humans nodded, "Hmph. To make it understandable for the two of you, I'll put it bluntly. The innate magic within the two mares you had," she shuddered," _relations_ with might've taken your- um… seed… and transformed it to a more suitable form. If I remember correctly from what I've read, the egg would take on both of your genes, just like any other mammal. So to make it clear, the magic within them could have possibly changed your sperm and made it compatible with both Moon and the Princess."

The room stayed silent for a few moments, both humans remaining quiet and mulling over what the unicorn just said. Both were men of science currently or at one point in their lives, but neither had ever heard of such a thing occurring, let alone anyone thinking of it. They exchanged looks before Aden decided to speak.

"Trixie… how do you even know any of this? You aren't making this up, are you? To mess with Rick?"

The magician looked offended, "What? Do you honestly think I'd do such a thing? I'm telling the truth! And if you'd like to know, I learned this from a friend in Canterlot I made when I used to live with my uncle there."

Rick waved his hand, "Wait, wait, wait, you have an uncle?"

"Yes," she said in an annoyed tone, "Why does that seem so odd?"

"No reason. But who's this friend?"

Trixie smiled, "Oh, her name is Neuralia. She's some big-wig surgeon or doctor or something from Canterlot. When I used to live with Uncle Hoity, I would visit our neighbor and we'd play in the park."

"Huh. Things just keep getting weirder and weirder. I already met her, by the way."

She gasped, "Really? How is she?"

Rick grimaced, "Seemed tired. Like a brainwashed zombie. Fell asleep right in the middle of the street."

"I hope she's alright…"

Aden cleared his throat, "Hey, back on track?" He turned his head to Trixie, "So, if I heard you right, the magic inside of you ponies lets something from even another species get the females pregnant? And that might just have happened to Rick?"

"Well, yes, that's pretty much it. That's why I was so worried. I didn't take Rick for the fatherly type, so I had to ask."

Rick's eye twitched, "You're joking right? This can't be serious." He grabbed Trixie by her shoulders, "You're messing with me, _right_?"

"N-No, I'm not. I'm just telling you what's happening."

He looked her dead in the eyes, his voice as serious as his face, "Tell me you're seriously fucking joking right now. Tell me."

"R-Rick! Stop!"

"Are you? Is this some kind of sick joke?"

Aden slapped him across the back of the head, "Stop that, you're being an idiot. Instead of pretending you're a mobster extorting Trixie for information, why don't you think about your current situation and what you're going to do?"

Finally regaining his senses, Rick stood up and chuckled, suddenly realizing the major flaw in Trixie's logic.

"Wait, wait, wait, I couldn't have gotten them knocked up. I mean hell, with all of the shit that my body's been through, I doubt I'm anything but sterile at this point."

Trixie cocked her head to the side in confusion, "Wait, why would you be sterile?"

"Well, I've been exposed to high doses of radiation a good amount of times, to start. There were those times that I was tortured and they went straight for where it hurt with their shock paddles." He looked thoughtful, "Yeah, I've taken a few blows down there during fights too." Rick shrugged absently, "I don't know, I just really doubt the fact that I'm fertile after all that stuff happening. Seriously, I can't imagine my junk being able to shoot anything but blanks. Seems like a bit of a fitting fate too. Always said I wasn't willing to have children, and for a damn good reason too."

The unicorn was about to speak but glared at Aden after being cut off, "You know, we can check to see if you're fertile or not. Hell, we might as well hook you up to an encephalogram to see what's up with your nerves after what Moon did while we're at it. Never know what we might find this time, you know."

"You sure are being an asshat this morning, you know _that_?"

Aden shrugged, "I didn't sleep last night."

"Not that I care, but I assume it has something to do with the chalkboard you somehow found?"

"Yeah, something like that." The engineer motioned to the shuttle, "Come on, let's get this sorted out. Maybe you'll get lucky."

Rick raised a brow, "What's your definition of 'lucky'?" Aden began to walk away, "Okay bitch, go ahead and do that. I already know what you're hoping for. And frankly, I thought you'd be more supportive."

"Consider this Rick; if by some miniscule chance that you aren't useless in procreation, what would you do if you got either of them pregnant? Now, I don't know what you did last night, but I can assume. If you managed to… succeed, how would you even handle it? Would you stay with them and settle down? Or go back home and leave them with the burden you should be sharing with them?"

The agent exhaled, "I'll figure it out when I have more information to work with, all right? Oh, and just so you know, I wouldn't abandon them. No matter what."

"Fine then. Let's check, shall we?"

Mumbling under his breath, Rick followed his compatriot into the shuttle once again. Trixie motioned to come along, only for her first human friend to shut the door on her. She stamped her hoof in exasperation and trotted outside, looking for some sort of distraction to cool her down until they finished.

* * *

><p>Groggily, Princess Luna moaned and repressed the instinct to open her eyes in an effort to stave off wakefulness. A warm body was wrapped around her and the mare smiled, thinking it was her lover who returned to be with her. Luna relaxed in the embrace, sighing peacefully and resuming her original self-appointed task of slumber. That is, until something began nuzzling her. She opened her eyelids to find Nightmare Moon holding and sleeping against her in a somewhat protective manner.<p>

Not expecting to wake up to this, the Princess blushed and receded slightly from the larger alicorn. Then Moon lifted her leg in her sleep and placed it over Luna, effectively spooning with her. For Luna, it was a far more than a confusing situation to be in. The very thought that she'd be sharing a bed with not only her greatest enemy, but another mare for that matter, was something she never truly considered to happen.

Princess Luna gave moving away a shot, only to be pulled back in quickly by Moon's death-grip. She sighed to herself, realizing that anything else would most likely be futile.

'I am still tired…'

Mentally shrugging, Luna leaned in and fell asleep against Moon's chest, finally resting once again. Before falling asleep, she noticed that the other alicorn was wearing Rick's shirt for whatever reason. The other mare, however, smirked to herself in the dark of the room, content with her position. They both fell asleep together, neither willing to get up just yet.

* * *

><p>Princess Celestia shuddered to herself, feeling a cold chill somewhere nearby. Her eyes met no source of such a feeling that could make the sun goddess (her internal body heat exceeded what was normal for most ponies) shiver. She groaned under her breath, making it known to nopony that she was deeply flustered at her predicament. The Gala was only a day away and Luna was nowhere to be found, neither in the castle grounds nor Canterlot.<p>

'Where could she be? With that human?' Her brow furrowed, '… Those feelings…'

Celestia turned to her window and lit her horn, using a spell to enhance her eyesight to amazing proportions. The Everfree Forest was her quarry, and as she inspected her target, the alabaster alicorn became enthralled with its appearance. It truly had been a long time since she'd been there, or the old castle in fact. Sure, she'd been inside of it less than a year ago during the Nightmare Moon Crisis, but that was a fairly short visit.

There was a sense of longing lingering within her, something that urged her to go and see it again. But alas, according to her sources, that meddlesome ape-creature-thing resided there, much to her dismay. How could he simply assume control of what was technically still her property? It frustrated her to no end to know that priceless artifacts and ancient grounds were possibly being defiled by somepony who didn't truly care for her nation or its history.

'How could Lulu even care for that brute? Even Nightmare Moon should have more sense than to be with him!'

Despite her feelings, Princess Celestia was at least relieved that Luna was able to gain _some_ form of positivity from the human. It was subtle, but her experienced eyes took notice of how quickly Luna changed in her time of being a part of this whole escapade. No longer was she a recluse, for now she openly walked through the gardens and pathways of the castle, ignoring any stares she received.

Even during throne hours, Luna would chip in far more often than she used to. The citizens that came to either offer respects or announce complaints were a bit perplexed at the sudden change, but still seemed as indifferent as always. The Princess couldn't help but imagine Luna finally becoming more of a figure to her ponies, and pride swelled within her. It wasn't much, but she knew that progress was steadily being made.

Focusing her attention back to finding her sister, Princess Celestia augmented her vision to allow her to see a trail towards her sister, an ethereal tint taking over her eyesight. It was quite like the same Luna used not too long ago, with the exception that Celestia was far more skilled in using it due to her countless centuries of practicing magic. The spell purposely wore off, ending right on time. Princess Celestia sighed, now knowing where Luna was.

'It would probably be wise to have some guards and the Elements with me…' She thought to herself.

Nodding, the Sun Princess set to do as she saw fit: to head to the Everfree Castle and bring back Luna. Really, how could they have the Grand Galloping Gala if there was only one of the two Princesses there? It may have been that way for a thousand years, but now everypony knew who Luna was. Celestia, satisfied with her thoughts, began to write onto pieces of parchment, eager to retrieve her sister before the Gala.

* * *

><p>"… So, she somehow managed to actually fix your nervous system. Hard to believe, really. Anyway, you check out."<p>

"So I am shooting blanks, right?"

"Uh, no, I meant you check out as in your sperm is perfectly healthy. Which, once again, is hard to believe and pretty surprising."

"… You're kidding, right? How is that possible?"

Aden glanced up from a piece of paper, his eyes staring into Rick. The two had spent the last twenty minutes attempting to retrieve a "sample" and examining it, making the whole shuttle a very awkward, very odd place. The encephalogram revealed that Rick's nerves were, true to what Nightmare Moon said, perfectly fine now. While it may have let him feel proper pleasure now, he also realized that pain was just as easy to experience as well.

"How should I know? It tells me the results, not how it happened. At least," he flipped the paper horizontally, "I don't think it does…"

Rick grimaced, "This… This is not good. That means if both you and Trixie are right, I might've gotten either of them pregnant."

"Or both."

"Shit… I did not consider that." The taller man crossed his fingers, "Here's hoping that they don't get knocked up."

"Rick! How could you say that?" Trixie scolded, "Have you considered how either of them feel about that? What if they _want_ kids?"

He ran a hand down the side of his face, "Ugh, I hope not." She glared at him, "What?"

"You'd take responsibility, right?"

"Doy, of course I would."

"You sure aren't acting like it." The blue mare stated, "And I honestly would have expected better from you."

Aden chuckled, "Now _that_ is a pipe-dream."

They both stared icily at the engineer, both quickly winding down his resolve until he turned and resumed his work at the chalkboard. The heated conversation continued for almost ten minutes, at which point neither wanted to back down from their positions. Of course, when a vehement and ear-splitting bellow resounded from outside, their debate was sadly cut short. Each of them looked out the window to find that some massive creature was walking through the forest, stopping at the Stasis shield in curiosity.

Rick's jaw dropped, "What. The. Fuck. Is. That."

Trixie shrunk at the sight of the monster, "T-T-That's a HYDRA!"

"HYDRA?" Both humans exclaimed in unison.

"YES!"

Aden narrowed his eyes, "What the hell does it want?"

"Can we kill it?" Rick asked, obviously wanting to get to the point.

"Wait, wait, wait. Remember the myths? You got to cut off the head and seal the wound to kill a Hydra," Aden explained

"I don't think it's going to give us the time to-" The Hydra stomped, sending shockwaves through the area and knocking each of them off their feet, "ow-cut off a head and stick a band-aid on it. Unless…"

"What, what, what? That shield isn't going to hold up forever against that thing if it decides to start attacking!"

Rick sped to the chalkboard and flipped it over to a clean side, taking a stick of chalk in his hand. With a fluent movement and hidden knowledge, the agent began to scribble quickly, getting down various equations, formulas, drawings, and plans of action. Some crude diagrams adorned the black board, detailing what looked like a small cylindrical shape. He set down the chalk and stepped back, aiming his finger as he went along what he had written.

"Alright… I think I got an idea."

"Mind sharing?" Aden muttered, clearly not amused by the stalling.

Rick pointed to a drawing of a few squiggly lines, "We take some Stasis from the chamber and convert it to Catisis before it can ignite with itself. Then we empty a foam canteen and fill it with some of each, keeping it separated using the injection system."

"Are you sure? That might just explode in our faces."

"Trust me on this, I have actual experience here."

Aden gave him a wary look, "Alright, I'll trust you, only because this is your territory."

"So after putting the stuff in there, it's essentially a bomb waiting for the fluids to be injected into one another. The resulting explosion is probably going to be pretty damn huge, even if we keep it down to a few ounces together."

"I can only imagine how you know this."

"Who do you think-"

"Yeah. I already know. You."

Rick smiled smugly, "Respect my hustle, sciencing, and whatever the hell else I've managed to remember after all these years."

"Noted," Aden nodded, "Now come on, let's get this done!"

"Wait!" They both turned to Trixie, "What does any of that even mean?"

"It means we get to play with really, really dangerous stuff and do really, really naughty things!" Rick exclaimed while laughing his way straight to the shuttle.

Another shockwave rocked the castle, sending pieces of the ceiling down. Trixie dodged the lumps of stone easily and retreated inside the shuttle, where it was far safer. Aden simply watched the monstrosity of a living being move around absently from the window. It was really quite an interesting creature, despite its horrendous appearance.

The beast was a tannish color, with various bits of red here and there. The serpentine body was supported by only two legs, which seemed quite strange to the man. Even stranger were the four heads, attached to long, winding necks that seemed to move as if they were waves. If there was anything Aden recalled about Hydras from his mythology classes, it was that they were considered some of the most poisonous of creatures to have existed. Still, a lot of things seemed to be different in comparison to his planet's version, so surely this one was different, was it not?

"Damn't Rick," he muttered to himself, "Hurry up before this thing kills all of us…"

* * *

><p>Princess Celestia raised her head and looked at her surroundings. She had stopped by Ponyville to bring along the Elements of Harmony with a dozen guards (both Day and Night versions), in case things got a bit strained. It may not have been a necessary procedure, but it was better to be safe than sorry, especially when dealing with somepony who was quite possibly on the verge of a mental breakdown at any moment. Not that she couldn't easily dispatch him should it come down to it, but being the mare she was, she preferred not to resort to violence.<p>

The Princess grimaced uncharacteristically, recalling how she lost her temper when she was in another universe with Rick, Twilight, and Luna. But was she in the wrong for what she did? Celestia didn't believe so, mostly because she considered herself to be protecting her younger, more naïve sister from somepony who might not have as good intentions as he says. Sure, maybe slamming him into a wall was a bit harsh, but she was positive it left a message that he wouldn't soon forget.

Raising her head higher, the Sun Goddess noticed a peculiar sight above the tree line. It was… a Hydra? What would a Hydra be doing outside of the Froggy Bottom Bog and in the Everfree Forest? Granted, both were connected together, but it was uncommon for a Hydra to be prowling on land unless a meal was involved.

It was stalking, and it needed to get out of here.

Celestia shook her head and blinked. Where did _that_ come from? The alicorn ignored what she just thought and let everything fall into place within her mind. Wasn't that where the…

'The castle… It's at the castle!'

The Princess, working faster now, began to round up the various Elements along with her guards, making sure they were ready for anything that might happen, whether it was from the enormous creature or the troublesome human. She withheld another grimace, being not entirely sure which was worse in any given situation. Far in a distance occurred a deafening boom that echoed across the area along with a massive flash of light from somewhere within the Forest. The Goddess immediately got to work, realizing that there might possibly be more at stake than she originally thought.

* * *

><p>Rick kicked open the door of the shuttle with a foam canister in one hand and nothing in the other. A mix of green and blue danced across the surface of the container spectacularly, and while it may have been attractive to any other eye, both humans knew the destructive possibility it possessed. Despite that, there was still a chance for it to fail (that being the ten percent of no serious chemical reaction) miserably and nothing to occur at all. His right hand gripped the metal container solidly and left no room for loose areas.<p>

The agent jogged to Aden and stepped in place, "Alrighty, nine out ten chance for this to work sumptuously, one out of ten it'll end with someone getting killed. Want to place any bets before we start?"

"Shut up, let's just get out there and finish this," Aden replied with a hint of annoyance.

Rick smirked, "Fine, what could possibly go wrong other than _your_ untimely death? I can still be reconstructed, son!"

"Yeah," Aden rolled his eyes, "and who's going to fix you when you come out of there like a half-baked yam?"

"Point taken."

Settling that matter quickly, both men ran out the castle and through the Stasis shield, only to meet with a gigantic leviathan that seemed to look down upon them from countless feet up. It came as quite a surprise when the creature showed its expressiveness by having each head literally raise a brow up at them in either curiosity or some form of arrogance.

Aden stared up at it, "…So… it can think, I'm guessing? Wow, it can even pity our smallness. I've never seen something like that before."

"Does it matter?" Rick huffed, "Let's just get that magnificent bastard to get his ass up outta here."

"Oh, Rick, when aren't you completely right and so full of glorious reason?" His friend quipped.

"Stop that, jackass. Just turn into that big ass thing with all your nanomachines and other bullshit and toss me up there." Rick raised a hand to block out the sun, "How the fuck that even works is beyond my comprehension."

"I'm pretty sure I explained it earlier," Aden remarked, "But I'll get right on that." The Hydra lowered its heads, baring its discolored teeth before them, "Yeah, definitely."

The engineer, feeling a new sense of fear for his life, forced what power over the microscopic machines within his body he could muster towards his body. Deep inside of him, the tiny robots immediately began to rework his bodily structure using whatever resources they could find. Whether it was part of an organ or a previous meal, nothing was discriminated to be broken down to the basic levels of structure and twisted into something more desirable.

An excruciating heat wracked his body and enveloped him in an agonizing pain that nearly made him scream out. Had he known less, Aden would have assumed his insides were being melted into putty or some other type of horrific end that didn't suit his goals. However, it was at that moment an epiphany struck him harder anything before.

'Good go- What am I _doing_ with my life? I-I can't live like this-'

His thoughts were abruptly halted once Rick spoke, "Get your ass up, _now_! Come on! Who knows when this thing will decide to eat us!"

Aden stood shakily, his body now just as malformed as any other person who had been radically transformed by the Mutagenesis. Priorities were set beforehand though, and the young veteran knew what was required of him that instant, pressuring him to ignore how he looked at the present moment and focus on the matter at hand.

It was quite a spectacle when Rick saw his comrade, eliciting a shudder and a "gross" from him. He wasn't quite sure if Aden heard that when he lifted the agent into the air and threw with a behemothic might that would have made a certain Minotaur break down and cry. Rick felt the wind rip against his face and urged him to narrow his eyes to slits. There had been quite a few times where the situation was reversed for the man and he'd instead been falling down from some high-up point. The change was much to his amusement.

Surprisingly enough, the next-to-normal human landed with an admirable accuracy on the head, where the peak of the throw was only a few feet above. The rough, tan scales did nothing to stop his slippery descent to the mouth of the inner-left head of the Hydra. It was almost comical how he hung precariously from the brow of the monster in an attempt to shove the canister down its gullet.

It swayed its neck and used the other heads to try and knock him off, but ultimately failed. Opting not to fall from what seemed to be a few hundred feet, Rick waited until the mouth was open to snarl at him before he activated the object and shoved it in. The heinous breath reeked something that want far beyond the word "foul," nearly stunning the shocked man. He slung his arm and pulled himself back up onto the head that was now flailing around.

"FIFTEEN SECONDS!" He yelled from atop the Hydra.

Aden quickly moved away from the vicinity and hid underneath the trees of the Forest. Rick, being ever so creative, used the slick scales of the monster as a makeshift slide.

'Dear god, I hope this doesn't end with me half-way through a tree…'

He jumped, landed on his back, and slid down the neck of the creature and onto _its_ back.

"YABBA DABBA DOO!" He screamed at the top of his lungs.

In reality, he didn't even know what that meant or where it was from, other than it being something an old friend used to say. Rick recalled it had something to do with dinosaurs possibly. As the human reached the tail of the creature, the explosion occurred, not muffled in the slightest. The massive outpour of energy launched him forward and into a bush, with various parts of the creature landing nearby.

Aden stumbled back, barely dodging a large piece of vertebrate that would have crushed him had he not moved. Bit and pieces of the Hydra fell all around him, raining down in a shower of revolting internal body parts. Huge strands of muscle, stomach lining, and the last, partially-digested meal was before him, making a mess of the area that would most likely not recover quickly from the mishap.

He had to admit though; the explosion was a spectacular distortion of colors that swept through the air in a wave of energy. Luckily for everyone, the chemical reaction of Stasis and Catisis was normally much quieter than that of any other brand of explosives. Despite that, the blast of the detonation left most of the foliage and trees bent back at an interesting angle. For whatever reason, it seemed humorous. Obviously they had just killed a creature of unimaginable proportions, but he hadn't expected such an after-effect.

Rick moved out of his bush, wiped some blood splatter off of his chest, and walked to Aden. A quick high-five was shared and they laughed together for a few seconds.

The agent spread his arms out and stepped in a circle, "Oh god! It's like Christmas, except not, and there's lots of blood and we just killed something that could have possibly been endangered or the only one of its kind! What a way to start the morning after!"

Aden, having shrunk down earlier during his retreat, found himself chuckling, "Wow… This is seriously… I don't even have words for what we just did. I mean, geez, that was all sorts of wrong." He looked thoughtful for a moment, "Should we feel guilty though?"

Rick gave him an amused look, "Hell no, you serious? That thing could have killed us if we didn't act quick. Anyway, let's head inside, yeah? I'm getting a bit hungry and I know you could probably use some cof-" There was a blinding flash, followed by a few familiar faces appearing not twenty feet away from the two humans, "-fee… Hmm. I think accidentally woke the neighbors up a bit earlier than they're used to."

"Ah, Christ, Rick…" Aden shook his head, "I think we may have messed up."

"Why's that?"

"She's the Princess and we sort of killed a natural inhabitant of her kingdom. I'd rather not make any enemies in another universe, even if we're going to leave soon."

"Soon? And we were defending ourselves, _and _Moon and Luna. Remember that." Rick motioned his hands as if he were smoothing something out, "Trust me, we're golden. Just let me handle this."

Rick turned to the newcomers and examined each of them. There were roughly half a dozen regular guards along with just as many darker variants (Luna's, he assumed). Princess Celestia was crowded by those pesky Elements of hers far behind their protectors and staring at the remains of the Hydra with a mix of pure horror and shock. The Elements each looked away from the scene and the Day guards seemed to become uneasy. Interestingly enough, the Night guards didn't look as bothered by the chunks of meat and flesh strewn about.

"Where to start…" Rick pointed to the Hydra and spoke loud enough for the Sun Goddess to hear, "He started it."

"Nice one…" Aden muttered.

"Shut it," the first retorted, "I'm handling this." He cleared his throat, "Whatever the hell that thing was called, it tried…" Rick chose his words carefully, "To slaughter all of us and eat whatever it could, so we killed it." Satisfied with his explanation, he became quiet.

For a good few moments, Celestia didn't reply. She watched the remaining body of the Hydra with awe, daring not to speak in order to not ruin the moment. Of course, it was obvious. She'd once again underestimated that crude ape-creature and this is the outcome. He literally destroyed one of the largest creatures in Equestria and looked no worse for the wear. It was simply baffling how he turned the Hydra into an unrecognizable mess on the ground of the Everfree Forest.

"Hey, how are we going to get rid of the body?" Aden whispered.

"There's a big ass canyon nearby, we'll dump it there," Rick replied.

The Princess' eyes flew up, glaring furiously at the two humans in front of her. The one human she recognized didn't seem to budge in the slightest, while the other Twilight had informed her about seemed to recoil back slightly. It wasn't very noticeable, but her trained eye from well over a thousand years of politics made it quite easy to see for her. She knew not who this new human was, but guilt by association seemed strikingly fair in this situation.

Celestia stomped her hoof in the ground, "STOP!"

Her voice boomed across the area, disturbing the local wildlife. Several birds that remained after the initial explosion flew off, cawing in despair and dread. The Princess looked down, realizing her hoof created another crater. She really needed to stop doing that. Celestia pushed past that and noticed the frightful looks from the Elements. The guards didn't show any signs of being bothered, something that she made a mental note about.

"What's wrong?"

Her eyes widened. That voice. The ignorance-laced voice that just pleaded to be struck down with all her might was directed once again at her. At that moment, she had grown to loathe that voice far more than anything else, including Chrysalis, Discord, or Nightmare Moon. It wasn't like her to have this much hate for a single thing, but she was now willing to make an exception.

"Y-You…" She sputtered out in anger, unable to form words through her clenched teeth, "You… are the single, most despicable, crude, crass, uncultured, dastardly, barbaric, uncivilized, vulgar, ill-mannered creature that could have possibly existed in either this universe or any other!" Celestia screamed, "How you managed to even live this long with such an ungracious and asinine personality is the mystery of the ages! I can only hope that my sister comes to her senses and realizes you for what you truly are, for not even Nightmare Moon should suffer the punishment of being with you for any amount of time longer than a millisecond! It's truly mindboggling how anything, even your own kind, could stand you! Even my kind, loving ponies can barely tolerate you!" Her eyes narrowed, "You… You are an appalling example of a living being that does not deserve Luna, or any other mare for that matter."

The entire forest seemed to fall silent at that, with each pony and human, save for the guards, to consider what she had just said. Aden, despite feeling meek towards royalty, was deeply irked by her words. The only person who could ever say such things was him and him only. Granted, she wasn't a person, but the point remained. Rick, however, didn't seem bothered in the slightest, but more so empathetic.

"I… thought that already a well-established fact…" He said softly, "But I can't help being a jackass. It's just the way I am." Rick raised his voice, "Don't you think I realize all of that? That I don't deserve either Luna or Moon? That I should probably have died a long time ago? That I know I get on others nerves with how rude I can be or what I do or say? This. This is all old news to me." He gritted his teeth, "But don't think I don't care about your sister, alright? I do. Why the hell do you think I killed that massive pile of shit? Because I felt like it? Because I like the thrill of the kill? No, that's not how I am anymore." Rick's fists slowly clenched, "I did it because it could have hurt your sister, Moon, Trixie or Aden."

Just as his name was said, Aden stepped forward, "It's true. We had reason to kill it, Your Highness. We wouldn't have harmed it if we didn't think it could have hurt or possibly killed us. It would probably be powerful enough to break through the Stasis shield and destroy the castle with us in it. Please, try to understand where we're coming from." He pleaded, doing his best to protect his friend's life.

Celestia stared at the other human with silent evaluation. He seemed a tad rough around the edges but there were manners there. Quite well ones, she had to admit. It was entirely possible that not all humans were like the one she'd had previous encounters with and she soon recognized that. Feeling remorseful for acting in the same way she had described, the Princess opened her mouth to apologize, now knowing most of the details as to what happened. Of course, Rick would be the one to speak right before her.

He sighed and turned to head back into the castle, "Forget it… She'll probably never understand anyway. Let's get some breakfast."

Aden bowed his head towards the Princess, "I apologize for his actions, if it's any consolation. He's probably a bit stressed about some of the things that have been going on." He followed after his co-worker and headed towards the entrance of the Everfree Castle.

"You can come get some too, if you want. More than enough for everyone," Rick called out from over his shoulder, not bothering to turn back, "There's also your sister, who you might want to see anyway. Oh, and don't worry about Moon, she doesn't bite." He stopped moving for a moment to think and muttered, "Well, that's not entirely true…"

With that said, both humans headed inside of the castle in order to relax from the tiring ordeal they had just been through. Neither really expected company, royalty no less (though, Aden was the only one who cared about that little fact) to be visiting a far and out place, especially in such a dangerous area as the Forest. They bopped fists, relishing in the success of defeating what was such a horrendously huge monster that it would have probably been able to destroy the cities of the ponies, should it have wanted to.

Celestia, however, was internally in battle over how to feel about what happened. A living being was now dead, but it was in the name of safety for a few innocents. Another creature was walking around with the first human and at least showed a serious respect to her, which was always a plus in her book. It all so very draining to think about and the stress from the previous days suddenly made their weight known again.

She sighed, and motioned for her group of guards and the Elements to head inside. Should things go awry, she would be able to easily dispatch the threat. The Elements each had their necklaces, with Twilight wearing the Crown of Friendship atop her head. The student gave her mentor an uneasy look but followed along regardless.

"Princess, do you really think this is a good idea?"

Celestia forced herself forward, "Of course, Twilight. Luna is in there and I'm sure we have nothing to fear," She lied through her teeth, "Besides, maybe you can speak to that new human regarding some questions on their world, or with…" She looked at the PDA peeking out of Twilight's saddlebag with curiosity, "… the other and that device he gave you."

Twilight nodded her agreement and kept pace with the group, giving reassuring looks to each of her friends. Rarity was a bit turned off by the prospect of getting mud on her hooves, as always, and treaded lightly. Applejack seemed to remain normal for the most part, with a simple smile on her face while she trotted alongside and teased the previous pony.

Pinkie Pie was bouncing along and capturing a few leaves with her curly mane as she passed some branches. Rainbow Dash had an interested look on her face, but Twilight couldn't decipher what it was about as she flew by. Fluttershy, however, lingered back, only pushed forward by fear that she would end up banished while locked up in a dungeon should she not follow the Princess. Twilight felt sympathetic at her friend's meekness and did her best to cheer her up as they moved up the stairs of the castle's front entrance.

It had almost been a year since they'd last been here together, and the air was far less creepy than she remembered. It felt much more… comfortable. Yes, that was the right word, and if not, then cozy was another. She had far too many questions that needed answers and now was the perfect opportunity to get some.

Her veiled giddiness did not go unnoticed by her mentor, however. Celestia smiled, feeling her heart dissolve some of its anger at the sight of her student happy despite the situation. The living goddess exhaled as she stepped through the doors, which seemed to have been repaired.

'Maybe things will go well this time?' She considered meeting eyes with Nightmare Moon, 'Or not.' Celestia thought grimly, 'No matter, I'll just have to smooth this over as much as possible, convince Luna to come back for the Gala, and return back to Canterlot, safe and sound.'

Her only hope was that a fight wouldn't break out, or that things wouldn't become more uncomfortable than they already were. Somehow, she felt as though that would be the case.

* * *

><p>Oh lordie, it's been way over a month since the last update. I apologize, but my courses seriously shit on me, especially when it's 18 credits. But I still made this, so I guess it's all ight.<p>

Well, it seems like I'm making progress into editing and rewriting the previous chapters. I've already gotten to the fourth so far, and it gets excruciatingly boring at times. It's required, I guess. But re-reading all of that stuff has really made me reflect back and see just how bad I wrote back then. Granted, I'm not that good right now, but I was straight abysmal back then. I mean, all those errors that seem so simple and easy to notice that I made is just embarrissing as hell.

Now, let's focus on Stasis specifically. Seeing all this stuff made me consider what I've been doing with this story and all that I've put into it. I realize now I experimented with it too much, where I shouldn't have and done so with another, smaller fic. The result was a lot of things I know now that I don't want in the story and I regret putting in. Ideas that were mediocre and poor execution, mostly. But one other thing I noticed is that this story has evolved _a lot_ from what I've originally wanted it to be.

From the start, I wanted Stasis to be a straight grim-dark fic with no romance, humor, or type of hope for the protagonist. A lot of things were influenced by things in pop and video game culture, if it isn't obvious (one being that Rick's original suit was based off of the SEVA Suit from STALKER). I molded Rick to be a complete jackass with a few redeeming qualities, but I wanted him to be a horrible person with very loose morals, an undying hatred, and a serious bloodlust. Of course, most of that changed. He would've ultimately been killed, but that's not the point. The point is that despite all of that, I pretty much turned it around and threw in a bunch of other shit that cut down on all the harshness. I added my own brand of humor, some relationships, a serious backstory as to why Rick is the way he is, and a reason for him to actually be alive throughout the whole thing.

I'm not sure if I executed it right, but I'm happy with these last few chapters. Frankly, I think everything before chapter 13 or 14 is horrible, but that's just me. But looking back on all of this had made me realize what's changed so much. Rick was supposed to be slaughtering anypony in front of him that got in his way, including Celestia or Luna, given the chance. Then, I decided to use him hurting Nightmare Moon and Luna killing him as little indications that I didn't think about previously. For whatever reason, I decided to stick him with both of them at the same time, and no others. I've never actually heard of a HiE where the human ends up with NMM, so I considered it an interesting prospect worth checking out. The result is the current relationship you see in these past few chapters.

Enough of that though, that's probably not what anyone wants to see. Why I brought up me redoing chapters earlier is that I need a bit of help with a specific thing. You see, I'm going to eventually stick this on FIMFiction, but I need a picture to go along with it. I can't think of anything to use, really. Back when I kept a ponychan thread, I used a picture of Buzz Aldrin, but I don't think that'll work anymore. What I'm asking is this: if anyone can think of something I could use, I'd deeply appreciate it. I'm not sure how I'd actually be able to pay anyone back other than maybe giving them a cameo or some shit, but my thanks if guarenteed (supposedly, it's not worth that much over the internet).

Well, I think that's about it. Also, if you haven't check out my other fics. I made one where Gucci Mane (the rapper) ends up in Equestria. Fucking retarded idea, but I want to make that shit hilarious as possible. Another thing, there's a poll on my page about Stasis and the ending, which will eventually come (somewhere between 5-10 chapters, definitely). There will either be an bad, neutral, or good ending. I'm not going to reveal much, but two out of the three doesn't end well at all for Rick. Not saying which, though. So go do your civic duty and vote. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, everyone, it's been a pretty fine experience to write it, as usual.

As Always,

Stay Trilla.


	24. Intermission

Well friends, it's been an odd journey, but it has happened. Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of Stasis as a story. Honestly, I can't believe it's survived this long, and it's all thanks to you folks, the readers. Looking back at it now, it's been a long ass time and I'd like to thank all of you for staying this long and reading my fic as I wrote it. I've learned a lot in writing over this past year and I think I've definitely gotten better in that department.

I don't really have much to say, despite how great I find this situation to be. Hopefully, I'll be able to get a chapter out soon, but with summer courses, it may not happen for just a bit. Who knew that shit was so much fucking work? I sure as hell didn't. Enough of my rambling, there's two people in specific I'd like to thank for what they've done to help me over this time. There may be others, but I'm so shot right now that I even forgot to type this all up yesterday, on the actual anniversary. My apologies to everyone else.

The first is nobodyreallyimportant, who edited and proofread my chapters and helped me a bit here and there. Second is Ranzick, who provided a glorious picture for Stasis that I will use when I eventually stick this on FimFiction. I'll just call this the "treat" and leave it here for whoever wants to check it out. I recommend you do so, because that amazing son of a bitch made one damn fine picture for me that deserves your attention. So without further ado:

photobucket . com/albums/jj611/Ranzick/?action=view¤t=Stasisforacoverthingtohelp-1 . jpg

Should work now, just delete the spaces by both periods.

Sorry that I don't have a chapter out or something, but I'll try to get one done as soon as I can. Once again, thanks for all the great support and all that good shit that you've guys given me. I guess that's all I gotta say for now, so

As Always,

Stay Trilla.


	25. Chapter 24

**Stasis**

**Chapter 24: Justifying The Means**

**By: Stillmatic**

* * *

><p>The bone saw dropped to a tool tray nearby, some dusty material stuck to the serrations. It was an archaic tool by all standards, but it having it in his grasp soothed his anxiety. That and an automated tool would be far too loud to be of use at this hour of the night. Regardless, he subconsciously made noise at certain times to remind him why he was here, operating on a cadaver that used to be human, an indefinite time ago. It wasn't a particularly saddening scene, what with this being regular at one point in his life. It seemed so odd that he once made a career out of doing things such as this, like healing people, fixing them, giving them another chance at life.<p>

The man shook his head at the various memories of times long gone and rolled up his sleeves past his elbows. An unbuttoned, tan vest hugged at his chest with pens visible from a breast pocket, where he placed a pair of reading glasses. The smack of freshly retrieved medical gloves stretching and snapping back to his wrists was as nostalgic as it had always been these past few days. A surgical mask was placed firmly on his face, tied off, and left to protect him from any foreign contaminants. He was now ready to operate.

Having already severed the top from the rest of the skull, the doctor pulled the few remaining tufts of hair and was met with a revolting mix of snapping and tearing sounds. He placed the top of the head on an empty medical tray, beside the saw. A deft hand dug into the space and gripped the brain stem while the other clipped it with a pair of surgical cutters. The brain fell into his left hand, jiggling slightly. Now that that part had been done, he could continue with his current research, and most likely more as he gave a quick look to the fresh body near the opposite wall.

Well over an hour later, after countless tests and notes taken, he came to same conclusion as he did with half a dozen other subjects. His eye twitched in sheer annoyance at how incredibly irritating and unfulfilling each operation turned out. A few deep breathes didn't mitigate his boiling anger a single bit as his gloved hands slowly curled into thick fists.

The body jolted as his fists came down on it, slamming them down several times on the corpse's bullet-ridden chest. He growled out in frustration as he smacked away a couple tools that lied on a nearby table and onto the floor.

"SCHIESSE!" The doctor flipped over a tool tray, launching several objects in the air.

It was no easy task to calm himself down, but progress was slowly being made for the man. A bloodied hand ran through his hair before he caught himself there and then wiped it on his vest without realizing it. He looked down and groaned in self-admonishment.

"Mein Gott… it just doesn't make sense!"

The doctor tore the gloves off of his hands and stared at the brain one more time. Still, nothing came to him. If only he had a live subject he could experiment on, to truly decipher the secrets behind how this new "species" functioned properly. All of the scientific gain possible if only he could get clearance for retrieving a living sample. It bothered him to no end. Yet, Congress specifically banned and explicitly prohibited all non-human, non-livestock, and non-equine biological matter from entering one of the last strongholds of the Eastern seaboard.

Discrimination was still a rampant problem for the "ponies" however, but the United States was far too smothered with other pressing matters to even bother pursuing anything past initial tests on transmission of the virus that had its grip on the planet. Still, a fair amount of humans tended to be highly distrusting of the new visitors, disregarding them excessively and ignoring their stories. While some lives were initially lost due to government research and other clandestine information retrieval, they were now considered no more harmful than anything else that lived on Earth at the moment.

It would be a blatant lie to say some humans weren't interested or kind enough to help the newcomers, though. While they still weren't widely accepted, some circles found a tolerance for them, even going so far as integrating them into American society, the only society which actually had ponies arriving into it. Media coverage was fairly short, only lasting a few years and ending shortly before a presidential election. The interest in the interlopers faded into obscurity and became commonplace as time went on.

All across the globe, however, a frenzy of necessity for information on these equines took place. Nearly all super-powers and their respective media outlets jumped at chances to see them, which were usually only few and far between. Still, when one pegasus, Blurshift, gave a speech in front of most of the United Nations in New York, the world fell into a state of shock. It initially came off as a joke on part of United States, where the pegasus was thought to be an animatronic robot or some other new technological breakthrough. Soon, it was realized that there was either serious genetic research being conducted in the U.S., or there was in fact sentient life beyond Earth. Despite that, the ponies from the nation of Equestria each found a hard time adapting to a new, much more unforgiving environment.

Him, the doctor, wasn't very fond himself of the ponies. Sure, their intentions were good, but they had no place in any human society, and vice versa for humans in theirs. He knew that all too well when he witnessed an old partner in a _relationship_ with one of those "things," as he usually called them. The sight left him deeply embittered and harsh for roughly a week's time. Still, he managed to overcome his resentment as his friend explained it and allowed himself to get killed in place of the one the missing human grew fond of. It could have been a heartwarming moment, but the educated man within only found a sense of intellectual understanding and enlightenment instead.

He was getting far too caught up in his thoughts and turned back to the operating table. The body still lay there, mocking him as his mind turned countless gears in an attempt to finally understand what others like him failed to grasp. His mind turned to his old friend momentarily as a reprieve from constantly running various theories and every possible hypothesis in his head. Suddenly, it dawned on him. The solution became blaringly obvious, and all that was needed was to consider what he knew of his ex-partner's condition.

He grabbed a voice recorder and flipped it on, "Wunderbar; psychotropic radiation collaborating en masse! The answer is simple!" The doctor quickly made his way to a dry-board and jotted down notes as he thought them, "The host brain must release the energy through some subtle wave pattern, giving it the ability to connect with others like it… Which," he rubbed his chin, "must mean that they can communicate somehow with each other… Then if that is the case, then a partially mutated individual must be able to retain some semblance of traits from both species, therefore allowing them to possibly override others if it can garner enough mental strength to do so."

As inspiration was just beginning to hit him, a tiny voice yanked him from his scientific pursuit, "Daddy..?"

He stopped dead in his tracks and he snapped to attention to the voice, "Renate…" The doctor quickly covered the body with a thick tarp and turned back to the young girl, "What are you doing awake?"

The shy child shuffled her feet, "I-I heard yelling… and bad sounds…"

"It was me," the man admitted to his daughter in slight embarrassment, "Sorry, liebchen, now please, go back to sleep."

"But daddy…"

"What is it?" He asked, confused at her reluctance.

"Where did unc-" the girl sneezed, but quickly recovered, "Aden go?"

The doctor cursed himself for allowing his daughter, Renate, to enter such a cold room, the operating room where seven dead bodies resided no less. He lifted her up in his arms and left the room, locking it with several padlocks before heading down the hall. What was once the dormitories for the United States Research Institute for Future Technologies had been willingly given to him as a personal research lab by benefactors he knew nothing of. It wasn't incredible, but he made do. His abandonment of the Fatherland quickly led him to America, where he was given more liberty to find some form of cure for the deadly outbreak.

He looked at his daughter as he walked through the doors into a sleeping area, "What do you mean? Your brother isn't sleeping with you?"

As he pushed through the doors, his daughter corrected him, "_Uncle_ Aden, daddy."

The father stopped and fell silent for a moment, considering his next few words, "… He is on vacation, helping someone."

"Who?"

Before the doctor could reply, another voice called out from a nearby room past some bunks, "Renate, stop bothering your father and let him get back to work, baby."

A woman stepped into the open with a knowing smile and headed over to her husband and daughter. He gave her a quick peck on the lips and led the young one back into bed, where he tucked her in and left with a loving "Good night." The man glanced at the other sleeping body nearby and sighed before leaving and heading back to the common room. The room itself was well-furnished (which he found surprising) and the woman he loved sat down, watching the late night news. He stood behind her, draping his arms over her body protectively as they heard various tidbits until a particularly interesting part came on.

A male news-anchor was now in view, shuffling papers and speaking slowly as he read off the teleprompter, _"It seems that recent allegations as to whether or not the United States will willingly hand over any equine aliens have been proven to be false by President Walsh, who on C-SPAN earlier this evening spoke before the House of Commons on the matter. Her push for indoctrinating willing aliens as American citizens has reached harsh resistance from a number of interest groups and key members in the government, who claim her actions will put the country in danger. In a press conference regarding the moving of the nation's capital back to New York City, Senator Green, visiting from Maryland and a major opponent to the proposed legislation, was asked on his opinion of the matter of equine aliens."_

A clip of the man in question began to play on the screen, with him standing on a podium before several news reporters holding microphones to him, _"Quiet honestly, I believe that by allowing these interlopers to further integrate into our society will not only make us targets to the foreign sources, but aggravate relations further unnecessarily. Until we can make this problem cease, I highly recommend we further continue investigating a way to deter further amounts of equines from arriving, whether through research or destruction of these so-called 'portals' they arrive through."_

Someone raised their hand and asked their question, _"What are your thoughts on the fact that there is another sentient race other than humans within the universe?"_

"_To summarize my thoughts would be avoiding all other controversy surrounding this, but I will say this: I do not believe they belong here, nor should they exist here. They're simply unnatural beings that completely obscure the line of reasoning once established within this country."_

"_How so?" _Another yelled out.

Senator Green leaned forward onto his podium, _"The very existence of these equines and their abilities defy man-discovered science as well as thought. Of the three races, one is capable of bending physics on a whim, another can fly at speeds that are superior to some aircraft, and the last has the strength to knock over a small car. There has never been anything like this before and it seems incredibly odd that they're capable of existing."_

The man's wife clicked her tongue, "What a scumbag." She noticed the startled look from her significant other, "What? It's true. And how could we never know this was possible? Didn't ancient cultures make stories about these things?"

"I believe so, but please, the language."

She gave him a light jab in the chest, "You can't tell me what to do or say, Toby."

"Of course not. To make the mother of my children do anything against her will? Unthinkable."

"Not funny, mi'jo."

He sighed, "Better. But to get back on track, I agree with him, Cass."

"This guy?" His wife, Cassandra asked in bewilderment.

"Yes."

"He's a pig," she stated flatly.

"That may be, but he knows a fair deal more than others, don't you think?"

Cassandra looked up at her husband and impersonated her husband's voice, severely botching it in the process, "Mister Tobias, please tell me why you have hate to such cute people like those horses."

"Well," he began, chuckling, "Most likely because he's right about those equines not belonging here. I recommend sending them back to their own homeworld once we've discovered a way to do so." The doctor gave her a light peck on the forehead, "Oh, and please, use your normal voice. It's much more fitting."

Tobias felt it was true, really. For whatever reason, whenever she spoke in that signature voice, the one of a native Puerto Rican, he felt happier and more at ease. Despite that, she would occasionally tease him by impersonating his accent and using what little German she knew. He smiled, recalling all of the times she completely destroyed the grammar and pronunciation of the language he had given up on. Conversations with his wife always seemed to relieve his stress, especially in the last few months when he'd constantly been researching.

"You know, you never talk about why you left your home."

He grimaced faintly, "There are too many bad memories surrounding that, and there isn't much left there in the way of human populations anyway."

"But if you ever want to, baby, just let me know." Cassandra pulled down his head and gave him a kiss, "You can't be bottling all that up, honey. Won't be good for your health."

For the first time in quite a while, Tobias laughed and shrugged, "I am a doctor, if you didn't know that just yet. I think I can keep my health in order well enough."

"With how you've been eating?" She rolled her eyes, "I swear, platanos this, fatty foods that! Why do just like that kind of food? I can cook _other_ than the food my mom taught me, baby. American, Ital-"

Tobias cut her off, "And you believe that that stuff is any healthier? A wad of meat or some pasta drenched in cheese and sauce is better than what you do?"

"Nothing's better than what I do, but that isn't the point." She tapped the side of her head and smiled, "Variety."

He hummed in response and went back to watching the news broadcast. The Senator's clip already ended and was replaced by a woman dressed in a tidy suit jacket and skirt, speaking in front of a large circular crowd that made up the various representatives that arrived to the meeting within the United States. The grayed hair and authority she carried in her voice were both indications of how much time she had spent building a unique and strong character throughout her life that helped her reach the current position she held within the government. It seemed she was already closing up her speech by this point.

"_And I believe that both parties can gain in various ways from establishing a treaty. But first, we need to find some way of building trust between both human and equine-kind, so their home nation is willing to speak to us and delegate an agreement between our countries. If what I've heard is correct, I'm sure that they'd be more than willing to share raw resources for technology. The opportunities are endless and we are the only nation on this entire planet that has been given the chance to fully make contact with intelligent life beyond this planet. We've put this off for too long and action needs to be taken for us to effectively make the best of this situation. That is why I am fully endorsing the 'American-Equine Integration Act,' allowing for any equine to lawfully become a citizen under political-displacement amnesty and asylum. I hope the rest of you will follow through this with me and bring this country into a new era. Thank you for having me."_

The clip cut off there and returned to the anchorman from earlier, _"That was President Walsh on her proposed plan for-"_

Cassandra flicked the TV off and broke Tobias out of his trance from the screen. He blinked a few times and stretched his back, cracking it. She stuck her tongue out and headed for the kitchen area to grab some coffee while he trailed behind for some himself. Tobias leaned against the counter and crossed his arms in thought.

"Do you think he forgives me?" he asked, not entirely paying attention to the fact he did so out loud.

Cassandra poured herself a cup of the brew and sat on the counter, "Who? Your friend?"

His eyes flitted up to meet hers before looking back down at the ground, "I don't think that's what he'd call me, but yes, him."

"I," she took a sip, "don't think you had a choice, but you made the right one. I know you couldn't have told him because of that bastard." He gave her a look, "Sorry, I meant to say pendejo." Another look, "What?"

"Even I know that that isn't a very kind word."

She shrugged, "Fits. But what about-"

Just then, a door slammed, echoing down the nearby hallway. Tobias, unlike his wife, didn't even bother to wince and simply drank more coffee. His mind focused for a brief moment on the other mutated body in his "research lab." While none of the others were quite as fresh as this one, due to all the mass amounts of red tape surrounding authorization, it didn't seem very promising. His spark of ingenuity not too long ago was still alive for the time being, but he felt as though nothing significant would be found with his last cadaver. In fact, he knew well that-

"Still awake?"

Tobias was abruptly cut from his thoughts as a familiar woman entered the room, making herself at home on a stool near the counter. He watched as she slumped down sighing, keeping her head up with her hands. Her long, brown hair, demeanor, and personality held slight resemblances to someone he knew, and she was always a constant reminder of that person. It was simply aggravating to continue seeing such reminders, but he couldn't fault her for that. The doctor's wife took another quiet sip and looked down, finding her shoelaces interesting all of a sudden.

The woman turned her head just barely in his direction, "Any progress?"

"No," he replied flatly, "What of you?"

"Some. The problem is finding some kind of way to allow for a human being to enter through the fields. I'm not entirely sure what their 'magic' really is, but it's naturally in them." She half-smiled, "If we can find a way to disrupt the passage the same way the Equestrians do when they cross, we can manage a path through in the same way."

Tobias checked his watch and tilted his eyes back up, "Have you tried using their abilities and directly injecting it into a test subject?"

The woman scowled in response, "They're not test subjects, they're people. And yes, we have. Humans don't seem to be able to handle the magic in their system, so they regurgitate it or fall over sick. I doubt anyone can actually take that stuff and function properly."

"Have you…" He thought for a moment, "Tried using Stasis?"

She gave him a funny look, "What? Why on Earth would I even try that?"

Tobias sighed, "Because Stasis has temporal mitigation properties, perhaps? Possibly enough to even let a fully grown human through that so-called 'magic-field' that's preventing us from entering their home-world?"

"Well… I suppose it could work in theory… But it'll take days to file the paperwork, then after that, probably _weeks_ for it to even reach the commission. Why they even regulate this stuff is just so…"

"Necessary?" They both looked at Cassandra, "Come on, it's not like we should just be able to bring whatever we want into the city. That happened in Trenton. Both of you know what happened there."

It was a grim but needed explanation of why there were so many federal regulations on importing various items into the city. A minor slip-up on the government's part could doom one of the largest strongholds still in existence on the country's surface, at the cost of millions of lives. It became easier to understand why exactly those rules were set up for the both of them.

Regardless, Tobias wouldn't have it, "How do they expect me to make progress on this if I can't get a live subject anymore?"

"Or me if they withhold what I need to actually see this through?"

"Just work with what you're given?" Cassandra suggested.

The woman sighed in defeat and moved toward the coffee to grab herself some. The smell of freshly-made brew wafted in her nose, drawing her closer until Tobias cut her off by standing in front of the coffee-maker. She looked up, meeting his eyes and glaring at him.

"Don't you think you should sleep?"

"Did I ask for your input?" She snapped back.

"No, but what would have been the point in me saving you if you're simply going to kill yourself from exhaustion?"

The woman exhaled in exasperation and pinched the bridge of her nose, "Listen, Tobias, you're a friend to them, but you're _just_ an acquaintance to me, alright? Trust me, you have my thanks for helping me, but don't push your luck when you're talking to me, because unlike anyone else here, I won't even stop to give smacking you across the face a second thought." She gave an icy glare that could kill, "Now, move."

Tobias stepped aside patiently and muttered under his breath, "Just like your brother…"

An instant later, he caught her hand, but not before it slapped him across the face. The spot stung fiercely and swelled quickly. Tobias cursed himself for underestimating her strength, not bothering to connect that strength to who she'd used it on when she was younger. He cracked his neck and glowered down at her. She didn't so much as flinch at his gaze and tore her hand away without much of a fight. For a moment, he'd seen his old partner's face in hers.

"Was that necessary?" he asked. "Or are you simply going to continue acting childish, _Jenny_?"

It wouldn't be fair to say Tobias didn't have a chance to move out of the way, but when a fist actually came at his face, he didn't quite expect it. He gave his head a quick shake and gently touched his nose, feeling it had taken a serious blow. Some blood dripped down, but it seemed negligible from his point of view. Still, it was humiliating, if anything, to have been taken by surprise by a woman _twice_. He looked back down at her and raised a brow, despite the new-found respect he had for her.

Jenine held a finger to Tobias' nose, pressing it in as she spoke, "Listen, don't you _dare_ call me _that_. That's for friends and family, and you don't fit into _either_ category. And if you so much as _speak_ about my brother in any way other than something positive, I _will_ give you more to think about than just a bloody nose. Just because you gave Ricky that reconstruction chamber and helped me back on the Island _doesn't_ mean you can say things like that!" She pulled her finger away after giving it a jab, forcing more blood out, "Do you understand? Or," she cracked her knuckles, "do I need to convince you some more?"

Tobias stared at her for what felt like hours. At certain points in his life, he'd hear about the viciousness that was the protection held between the two siblings, whether it was from his own brother or a random co-worker. There was a time when he was told that Jenine had literally hospitalized a man who attacked her brother, whereas Rick had murdered some civilian who attempted to rape her. While neither crime was rare for an agent, it simply showed the great lengths the brother and sister were willing to take to protect each other from harm's way.

He sighed in resignation and nodded his head, "Yes, of course I understand."

"Good."

Cassandra had left the scene a bit ago, smirking at Tobias from the television area and holding back a fit of giggles. He rolled his eyes at her immaturity and-

"Are you rolling your eyes at me?"

He looked back down to see Jenine staring metaphorical daggers (they still somehow felt painful) at him. With a shake of the head, Tobias disarmed the situation and headed back to his wife, who wore a knowing grin.

"You shouldn't rile her up like that," she said in a sing-song voice. "She might just beat you in a fight."

Tobias' face went deadpan, "And where were you to help me when I needed it?"

"I thought that yo-"

Another door slammed, only making Cassandra flinch. The echo of hooves clicking against the linoleum floors completely changed the moods of two of the occupants. Tobias' face instantly turned bitterly cold. Jenine's lit up and she soon turned to the door to see a familiar pegasus step into the doorway, as if seeing everyone inside agreed to his entrance. She beckoned him over, making him a cup of coffee as well before heading to the couches. He made his way there as well and sat down comfortably on the rug in the middle of the circle of various chairs.

Jenine smiled at his thoughtfulness and handed him a stryofoam cup, "Come on, up here with us."

He obliged and sat on the couch (which thankfully wasn't leather), "Thanks, Jenny." The stallion felt a cold glare directed at him and he quickly turned away once he met Tobias' heart-stopping gaze. "Heh, so what's new?" He started, trying to hide his nervousness.

Cassandra nudged her husband inconspicuously, forcing him to remain neutral. Despite that, the doctor couldn't help but scrutinize the Equestrian's every detail, down to his very core. The pegasus was a royal blue stallion, with a light violet mane that was kept fairly shorter than the other Equestrians he had seen. For some unfathomable reason, he was wearing the top half of a standard black business suit, complete with a red tie.

It was aggravating to even consider who in their right mind would make such a thing for such a creature, but Tobias quickly pushed the thought away. His wings clung tightly to his body, with there being holes for them in the suit. Lastly, he observed one of those dreaded "Cutie Marks" the Equestrians had; a clear, triangular prism with the color spectrum looping several times around it adorned his flanks. Supposedly, this stallion was part of some "royal physics department" at some cockamamie university within his country. He could only imagine what murder they committed to science in such a heathen-like society.

"So…" Tobias began, catching everyone's attention, "what exactly was it you did, _Blurshift_?"

The stallion smiled uneasily and fiddled his hooves together, "I worked as a researcher for Her Majesty's Royal University of Equestria for a bit before ending up here."

"A bit?" the doctor prodded.

"Well, yes… I've only recently began my career after attending the Griffon's University of Highwind," Blurshift admitted. "It's been maybe five or six years since I've graduated, but I've been on this world for only two years."

"Ah. What does a position as a researcher with your qualifications entail?"

"My group and I designed a different method of creating a sonic-boom, which was successfully tested by myself."

Tobias looked unimpressed, "Oh? A sonic-boom? I highly doubt that any living organism is capable of attaining the speed to actually do such a thing."

Blurshift seemed to sag at the harsh words, "It's not like I didn't get hurt… I did lose my wings for a few months."

Cassandra seemed to spit the coffee from the mouth back into the cup in surprise, and quite loudly, "_Lose_? Like, lost?"

"Yep." He stretched out his left wing and patted it, "Tore both of them off after doing the sonic-boom and got set on fire while I was at it. They grew back though. Fun times."

The doctor frowned, "They simply grew back?"

"Yeah! Unicorns have the same thing going on with their horns, and Earth ponies tend to heal a lot quicker than the other races too."

"Then…" Tobias rubbed his chin in thought, "I could clip off your wings at this very moment, and you'd be perfectly fine?"

Blurshift's face seemed to lose color instantly as his wings snapped back to his body, "M-My wings?" Tobias nodded, "Why… why would you want to do something like that? Th-That's just… despicable… and disturbing and vile…"

"For science's sake, of course. You could understand that, I assume? After all, you nearly risked your life to just break the sound barrier. Wouldn't you like to help us understand regenerative technology better by allowing us to slice off your wings? I'm sure we could anesthetize you appropriately for the proc-"

"NO!" Blurshift screamed. "STOP! JUST STOP!" Everyone, even Tobias himself, seemed to jump back at the reaction. The stallion huddled back against the far corner of the couch, and spoke quietly, "Y-You just don't understand… for even suggesting that… _you're a monster_…"

The good doctor stood up immediately, looking furious, "ME? I'M TRYING TO PROMOTE PROGRESS! YOU," he pointed to the pegasus, "AND YOUR KIND ARE THE OPPOSITE OF SUCH THINGS! YOU PREVENT HUMANITY FROM REACHING A BETTER STATE BY SIMPLY EXISTING! BECAUSE OF YOUR KIND, DIFFERENT GROUPS ARE BECOMING MORE AND MORE FRACTURED! YOU DON'T DESERVE TO EXIST IN THIS WORLD!"

He caught it this time, though. Jenine's right fist was balled within his own, much like the other she had just tried using against him a moment later. Tobias gritted his teeth and shoved her back, having reached his breaking point. She landed hard against the floor and winced slightly at the fall.

Jenine was seething furiously from her spot on the rug, "You're scum, Tobias, you really are. I can't even begin to understand what makes you such an inconsiderate _jackass_ to say things like that!"

"It's interesting how you feel so compassionate to their kind," he retorted, crossing his arms. "To think you simply don't care about your own species' well-being is an atrocity in itself. Furthermore, there's no reason for them even being on this planet, and I'd much rather them leaving entirely, or through force, if necessary." Tobias stared at the reclusive stallion as Jenine got up, "Even if through extermination."

Once again, he was caught by surprise by the woman he found so insanely aggravating. Much like her brother would, she head-butted him in the same area she had punched him, further damaging his nose. He reeled back and held it for a short second before reaching into his breast pocket.

Blurshift's eyes caught a strange glint, one that he recognized. His apprehensiveness faded fast and the pegasus was in the air for a brief time. Tobias was tackled to the floor, scalpel sliding away as Blurshift stomped a hoof down on his chest, bruising it severely. Jenine watched in a mix of shock and respect as the stallion pressed his hoof firmly down.

"Listen, I don't care what you say about me," he spat out, "but don't you even _think_ you can hurt Jenny!"

Due to pegasi being naturally light in weight, Blurshift was easily tossed off of the infuriated doctor and held by his neck. Tobias, a man of preparation, removed another surgical scalpel from his breast pocket and held it to the stallion's neck. Their eyes met, becoming a face-off between species.

Tobias spoke slow and deliberate words, "To be frank, I'd love for your kind to simply stop existing. I'd love it even more if humanity could understand what they're fighting against and how they're not so different from us after all. They have minds and are conscious of their actions, and can likely be helped from their horror-filled lives. But you," he narrowed his eyes, "disgust me to no end… You filthy Equestrians should be research subjects and nothing more… People don't know what's worse to live with; you have ex-humans on one side, and alien creatures on another. Myself? I'd rather live with what's formerly human than something that never could be."

Blurshift winced as Tobias put away the scalpel and threw him to the floor forcefully. Everyone within the room stared at him as he pulled out a handkerchief and brought it to his nose impassively. The air in the room was thick with tension from all sides. He stopped half way, however, and the small, white piece of cloth fell out of his hands, landing next to the stallion.

The lucidity in his eyes drifted away, as if it were a basin being drained of water. Tobias' mouth parted slightly and his eyes became half-lidded and glossy. His normally well-kept posture turning hunched was just barely noticeable, invisible to all but Jenine. She watched him sag more and more until he finally spoke in a nearly inaudible tone.

"I must go." He muttered to no one in particular.

The man left the room with completely even steps, making a clicking sound as each foot hit the floor. Jenine gently helped up Blurshift, who thanked her in turn. They both cast a look to Cassandra, who was casually drinking her coffee at the counter. Despite the seriousness of the situation, she was having a hard time withholding a fit of giggles at the event that played out in front of her. It just seemed so childish for them to have a short brawl like that while she watched, that she couldn't help but find it oddly funny.

Jenine dusted herself off, "You sure do know how to pick them, don't you?"

"He's all I ever wanted," she replied, shrugging. "But sorry, he's been really irritable lately with all that's been happening."

Blurshift stretched his wings, "I'll say…"

There was an awkward silence within the room. Jenine attempted to break the ice with a simple question.

"So… how did things at the U.N. go for you?"

* * *

><p>Something was wrong. It was as if a force were poking through his skull and directly into his brain, prodding it and guiding him. The feeling was strangely…reassuring for him. Like he was at home with it within him.<p>

Tobias shook his head, wiping away the massive sweat build-up from only a mere minute of leaving that room. Despite the comforting feeling that seduced him towards an unknown destination, the doctor knew that he probably seemed as though he were in horrible condition. His right eye twitched repeatedly, but he almost didn't give that any thought. Yet, he felt more and more at peace as he continued down the hallway, his dark shoes echoing absently from wall to wall. A quick wipe to his glasses cleared up the condensation from his sweating as he arrived at his destination: the research lab.

Tobias could have sworn he heard a sound on the other end of the door, whispering some indecipherable phrase. His hand was already on and turning the door handle by the time he realized it. It opened to reveal… nothing. He blinked. Literal nothingness on the other side. Just white space and no more. That is, until he saw a lone figure way out of his reach, standing there. A haze was in the air, preventing his eyes from making out the person. He reached out, not knowing what he was doing, and fell into the whiteness. Air hit his face constantly, pushing his hair back as he shouted in fear.

"**Peace."**

The doctor blinked again. Something was invading his mind. He found himself sprawled out on the floor, kicking his legs wildly for some reprieve from the infinite drop. His heart kept racing rapidly as he looked in all directions, trying to find what was making him hallucinate. Slowly, Tobias stood up and used a chair to support himself. A few curse words later, he started to make his way to the door, only for his eye to catch something. On the far end of the room, where the last specimen resided on a cart, was a figure sitting up. The immaculately white cloth still covered it, but it didn't move.

Tobias resisted the urge to run as the cloth was removed, fully showing what was underneath it. He felt his blood turn cold at the sight of the former human. It swiveled its legs and stepped onto its own two feet, giving him a better view of its partially deformed body. The coarse, ashy carapace reflected just a fragment of light, just enough to make him notice. Like several other types of mutants, it mutated to the seemingly standard three-toe, four-finger rules. It stood straight at nearly seven feet, an imposing height to anyone. The bald head was surprisingly featureless, or so it seemed from his angle; he could just barely make out what looked like a sharp, downward beak for what would have been a mouth, with it easily blending into the skin.

Lastly, what truly caught his attention were the light, green eyes. They were the most human he had even seen in any mutated creature, and looking directly at his own. Tobias felt rooted in place, his heart thumping faster and faster by the second as it stepped closer to him. Suddenly, the world shattered all around, coming apart and warping as the mutant continued to walk forward. Tobias was standing on air, with another void beneath him once again. He looked back up to see he was in the chilly lab a mere second later.

"**Unity."**

A sliver of pain stabbed at his head, but he remained where he was. It finally reached him, looking down upon him with any sort of noticeable expression. Then, it did something he didn't even begin to expect. It placed its rugged hand on his shoulder.

Reality warped and Tobias looked forward, trying desperately to make out what was in front of him. Like building blocks, pieces of terrain fell from the sky and went into place, making a scene all around him. A hand went to block out the bright sun shining down all around the realistic world that was created, and he finally took notice of his surroundings. He was in some part of the city, watching as random passerby's walked amongst more of the same type of mutant showing him what he was witnessing. There was no fear, and there were no screams. It almost seemed idyllic.

He wasn't sure when this was, but it couldn't possibly be that close in the future, or what the mutant hoped to be the future. The bleak reality was always there; humanity feared the different, the unknown, and the possibly dangerous. What could possibly change to ever achieve what he was seeing? People were just barely tolerant of a whole new alien race interloping into their world, but this? This was far-fetched and most likely unattainable. Yet, he liked it. The idea appealed to him greatly.

The scene shifted to that of a park, where dozens of children played happily in a tranquil environment with no threat of danger. Several of the same mutants from earlier were about, doing random activities alongside people. Tobias watched as a red Frisbee flitted through the air, only to be caught by one of said mutants. It shot it back to a human, who caught the perfect throw after a small jump up. The man who had the disk in his arms attempted to pull off some trick, failing in the process and falling over into the grass. There was laughter from both sides, and despite the obvious differences in looks, there seemed to be enjoyment.

"**Hope."**

It ended after that word echoed through his head. Tobias' mind raced, trying to understand what was happening at that very moment. A mutant, unseen before by any person, was standing before him, showing him mental images of some possible future where both sides co-existed without hesitation. It was too perfect, but he understood the meaning. Tobias looked up to meet its eyes, finally realizing that somewhere within that shell was a human being, thinking and attempting to make a connection. It finally made sense. They weren't actually all that different after all, at least, not in the sense of hu-

Tobias' face fell, his ears ringing as an intense gunshot went off right next to him. He watched as the mutant was launched away, flying back and slamming against the floor. Blood leaked from its chest from several different wounds, the bullets piercing its thick skin and embedding themselves within. He hastily smacked the gun upwards and met Jenine's face as another shot went off, bringing down pieces of the ceiling. The woman received a nervous look, one she wasn't expecting.

The human male quickly ran to the mutant and examined its wounds as it lied down, its chest supported up by its arms. Shallow breathing follow by slivers of red running from its beak were all indications that if the situation wasn't extremely serious before, it had just become that way. Tobias grabbed what tools he needed off the tray nearby and got to work, quickly doing as his previous job as a physician called for.

"Tobias, what the hell are you doing! That thing nearly killed you!"

He didn't even turn back to face her, "Get out. I have work to do."

Jenine raised her weapon at him for a few seconds, knowing that allowing the mutant to live could very well compromise the entirety of the city. She shook her head and sighed at the sight, leaving the room, disgusted. If Tobias wanted to get himself killed by something he couldn't even trust, let alone help, then so be it. No skin off her bones. Blurshift met her down the hallway with a distraught look upon his face. She laid his fears to rest and went back into the common room to finally unwind after such a stressful day.

Tobias, however, was busy at work, trying to save the life of the mutant who was actually capable of free thought and self-control. To think such ability existed within them was truly astounding, given that most seemed to be mindless killing-machines. Still, it was a massive step toward understanding them, an opportunity he wouldn't dare pass up, whether it was legal or illegal to do so. So he continued preventing its death by performing surgery and transfusing blood into it, giving it back its strength and proving his trust.

As he worked, he wondered about everything that had happened so far. Things were looking especially grim so far, but he could feel something was going to change very soon. Then there was Rick, who he had betrayed in order to secure the safety of his own family. Was what he did the right thing to do? Did the result inevitably justify the means? He didn't know. He had saved the ones he loved, but things seemed far too tangled up to make sense of his feelings. The doctor decided to ignore them for now.

Muttering, Tobias spoke the words he had heard someone say to him years back, before all of this, "Life… is based on decisions… and my decisions have brought me thus far."

There would be time to mull over his actions later; for now, he had work to do. After all, he had an oath to uphold, one he wasn't willing to break for one specific patient. Things had changed. He knew it. And yet, the best part was, he knew it was only going to change far more in the near future.

* * *

><p>Yo, I bet ya'll niggas expected this to come months from now, right? Well guess again! You were close though. Now, this chapter was specifically about the Earth homies, ya dig? Now, I know what you're thinking, and the answers are <em>mostly<em> there. One might ask, "Why is Jenine there?" or "Who is this pegasus?" and maybe even "What the fuck is even going on in this story anymore?" If this chapter didn't answer some questions, sorry, but I felt it was important to have the reader know what was going on over on the other Earth. The only important characters here would be Jenine and Tobias, but you won't be seeing them until the later chapters.

My German and Spanish was a bit too rusty to use much here, so it basically got watered down a shitload.

Also, I realized giving a "maybe" option on the poll was a stupid ass idea, because it gives no conclusive answers. I'm too lazy to fix that shit though. In other topics, I've gotten to finally finishing the fifth chapter and editing it. I didn't even realize I wrote that fucking much back then. Makes it so much more boring to do. BUT! It's a necessary action.

Another thing, I hear some shit is going down with FFNet and them tearing down stories and shit for certain things like gore or sex. If that happens here for Stasis, it'll get moved towards FIMFiction once I get it up to date. Hopefully it won't come to that yet.

Anyway, I'm off to do random bullshit. Hopefully I'll get a chapter done by the 30th if all goes according to plan.

As Always,

Stay Trilla

P.S. If you see Lucius Seneca, tell him he looks like that nigga from the Friday video. He'll know whatcha mean.


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